Flight of the Privateer
by Darien Fawkes
Summary: Follows "Nowhere to Go, Noone to Help, Nothing to Lose!" The Rangers have already found 20 keys, but now they know someone else is after the keys, someone who can use them against them! As they search for more, how long until their paths cross this mysterious enemy?
1. Chapter 1

**Legal: **I do not own Power Rangers or the associated names, places, characters, events etc. Anything not covered by the above rights should be considered purely the creation of the author.

**Rating: **T – May be some adult themes, language and content.

**A/N: **My version of the new season is going to go almost completely A/U, and there are a lot of differences to the main series already. I'd strongly recommend reading "Nowhere to Go, Noone to Help, Nothing to Lose!" to avoid getting too lost. You've been warned, this is VERY A/U!

Gia was standing on the deck of the Galleon, looking out over the clouds, lost in her thoughts. Although her life had had no shortage of dramas and adventure since Gosei had all but kidnapped them into the middle of an intergalactic war, the last couple of months especially had definitely changed pretty much everything about her whole outlook on the world.

She couldn't help smiling as she heard a commotion coming from below deck.

It had been tense at first, but they were all starting to get used to living together in such close confines. It had been one of the biggest changes that had presented the biggest challenges. Although she and Emma had been living together at Emma's place, and had been sharing a room since Gia's mom had moved into the Goodall house, the fact was the Galleon was all in a smaller living space than a house. Much of the space was taken up storing the other Zords in the hold, and so the actual living space was more of a decent size apartment, housing five young adults. To say that sometimes people needed to be a little flexible when it came to personal space would be a huge understatement. Privacy was somewhere between gold dust and a non-existent commodity, evidenced by the time Jake had once found himself in Gia's room, after a regrettable sleepwalking incident. Even the cave, when they had lived there provided more space to get away from it all, but after a while, they were starting to get used to seeing each other all the time.

The other thing that was wearing was the full-time nature of their new campaign. When they first became Rangers, they had still been living at home. They still went to school, they still had hobbies beyond learning to fight...in short, they had lives outside of being Rangers. With their exposure as the Rangers to the world, and their forced flight from the occupying forces of The Armada, they now had no option but to fully embrace their lives on the ship, searching for the scattered Ranger Keys in order to unite the powers. They still weren't entirely sure what Gosei's plan was for them, they hadn't seen him since he had saved them from execution, but they knew that for now, the most pressing matter was to find the Ranger Keys before anyone else did.

It was exhausting, but at the same time, there was something liberating about the whole ordeal. Before they had gone on the run, there had been a lot of other pressures involved in their normal lives. Senior Year at High School had been every bit as tough as they had been told. They were constantly evaluating their options, and waiting for word from various colleges and universities, checking out their career options, studying for exams, all those expectations had melted away. As much as the constant running and fighting took its toll, especially on their bodies, a part of her had to admit, there was a certain freedom in their life as pirates, at times, she had to think she was starting to even enjoy her life as a corsair.

As she heard another crash, followed by a howl, and couldn't help laughing. The Rangers had already found three additional sets of keys, the Mighty Morphin', Turbo and Mystic Force keys were now in their possession, in addition to five of the Sixth Ranger keys, the Green Mighty Morphin' Ranger, Gold Zeo Ranger, Quantum Ranger, White Dino Ranger and Mercury Ranger keys had all been found. However, three sets of keys was only a start. There had been seventeen sets of powers, including their former Megaforce powers. The fact that the Sixth Ranger keys they had found had been found separately also indicated that not all of each team's keys were in one place. In short, they knew they had a way to go. Their only lead on how to find the keys, the only way they could narrow down their search at all was down to the tracking technology Jordan had programmed into Tensou when he gave him his new body.

Gia still couldn't believe that their current technology was created by Jordan, the guy that she had loved tormenting ever since he joined the team. She didn't really understand how his training worked, or how much influence his Eltarian DNA had on the sudden increase in his technological skill, but he had created their new morphers, weapons, and even their Zords. Unfortunately, Tensou's new body had been the first project he had worked on, and it wasn't without its glitches. So far, the only way they had found that kick-started his search programme was a blow on the head. Needless to say, Tensou was not exactly thrilled about this development, or the fact that so far they hadn't found any other way to get around this problem. Noah, Troy and Jake had been chasing Tensou for a while now, trying to get a hold of him in order to get the clue to their next set of Ranger Keys before anyone else. Emma came over to the railing and leaned on it, looking a little worn out.

"I take it things are going well." Gia chuckled.

"Tensou can really move when he wants to." Emma stated.

"I just never thought I'd see the day you'd be chasing a parrot trying to smack it over the head." Gia teased her. Emma just looked at her.

"A ROBOT parrot." She reminded her. "Still, he's putting up a pretty good chase."

"I guess I would too if I knew someone wanted to bash my head in." Gia said with a smile, leaning back on the rail. Emma just looked to her.

"You seem awfully cheerful." She commented. "Would it have something to do with a certain day that's coming up soon?"

"It could do." Gia replied, smirking. It was only a few days until Gia's 18th birthday. It was a time of year both the girls usually looked forward to. Back in the day, the Goodalls and the Morans were very close, and coincidentally they had both given birth in the same week. Emma was born only a couple of days after Gia. They often kind of shared their birthdays as a result. While they weren't exactly going to have a traditional birthday on the ship, Gia was kind of looking forward to an intimate affair with the others. "I don't know, I guess even if mom won't be there...I don't know. I guess it's just my way of trying to hold onto something normal."

"I think I can understand that." Emma assured her. "Don't forget, it's not just your birthday."

Just then, they heard a tremendous clang.

"Noah, I got him!" Troy called out. "Quick, get the recorder!"

Emma and Gia just looked at each other.

"I guess Troy got him then." Gia commented.

"We should get down there." Emma told her. "I doubt Tensou's going to be happy with my boyfriend when he's finished with the poem."

The two girls descended the stairs to the main living area, finding it a complete disaster. Almost all the furniture was out of place, and stuff was scattered all over the floor, likely in the scramble to try and catch Tensou. They came over as Troy set him upright.

"Alright Tensou, talk to us." Troy told him. "Where are we going next?"

"Find what you Seek in the city of the Third Great Son,  
of Olympus' Great Family, beneath the Angel's Sun,  
Lost to time beneath his Brother's Domain,  
Those who dig up History's answers went there, now their powers remain.  
Beware the greatest of the Master's art,  
The precious gem, the Guardian's Heart."

Tensou shook his head clear as the Rangers started to look among each other.

"OK, that's kind of cryptic." Troy commented.

"And the other clues haven't been?" Jake grumbled. "Just once, I'd like a clue that says 'Go Here, its right where this hundred foot arrow is pointing'."

"If it was that easy, it'd be kind of easy for the others searching for the keys wouldn't it?" Noah asked him.

"Alright, this isn't helping, let's break this down piece by piece." Troy suggested. "OK, where to start..."

"YOU DID IT AGAIN!" Tensou screamed, flying straight at Troy, bowling him over. He started thrashing around, trying to cover up as Tensou started pecking him in a frenzied attack.

"Ow, Tensou..."

"You're a big meanie! You're all big meanies!" Tensou yelled as he continued pecking him. Gia just sighed, before they turned back to the puzzle. They could understand Tensou's frustration with the situation. It was probably best to let him work it out of his system; they doubted he would do anything to hurt Troy too much.

"OK, let's look at this." Gia carried on, trying to figure out where to begin. "Three Great Sons, Olympus' Great family, that's obviously a reference to the Greek Gods..."

"The big three, Zeus, Hades and Poseidon." Jake added. "They were brothers; they killed their father, the Titan Coronus and overthrew the other Titans to become the Gods of Olympus."

The others just looked up at him. Jake just stared back at them.

"What? I'm not allowed to be smart at times? I can't know something?" He asked them. They just continued to stare at him. Eventually he let out a sigh. "I watched Percy Jackson."

"Well, he got that part right anyway, Zeus, Poseidon and Hades were brothers." Emma stated. "But the poem specifies the Third Great Son...which one of them was the youngest?"

"Zeus was the king of the Gods, so he was the oldest." Noah reminded them.

"Hades." Jake finally said.

"OK, another Percy Jackson thing?" Emma asked him.

"Well...not exactly." He told them. "He's the one that got the plum job of sitting in the Underworld with all the dead guys right? Well...doesn't that sound like the kind of thing big brothers do when dolling out the toys? Give all the crappy stuff to the youngest?"

"I hate to say it, but he's right." Gia confirmed. "Hades was the youngest; he was sent to rule over the Underworld because the others muscled him out."

"So to go to his city, we have to what? Die?" Jake asked them. "I don't know about you, but I usually spend most of my time trying NOT to die."

"I don't think it's meant literally like that." Emma told him. "Weren't there some cities that worshipped some of the Gods in favour of others?"

"There were, some of them were even so focused on their worship that they were kind of the epicentre of their worship. Sometimes they were referred to as a God's city." Noah remembered. "Like Athens was the city of Athena, and Sparta was the city of Ares."

"I think I remember when I read The Illiad that Troy was Poseidon's city, that's why he was pissed at Odysseus. He destroyed his city." Emma recalled. "And Epirus was the city of Zeus..."

"Shit." Jake muttered, interrupting her. They all looked at him, at which he showed them a book he was looking up. He pointed out the passage in the book, showing it was listing the ancient Greek Gods and their areas of worship. It didn't take long for them to figure out the problem.

"Atlantis?" Gia asked. "We have to find Atlantis?"

"You know, a year ago I'd have thought you were insane if you asked about finding Atlantis, but I think it's a little late to be sceptical." Emma replied thoughtfully. "Now the question is, do we have any idea where Atlantis is?"

"There are a lot of theories." Noah said a little dejectedly. "Unfortunately there's no knowing if any of them are real or not."

"If someone had found Atlantis, I think we'd all know." Troy stated as Tensou finally gave up his assault and let the Red Ranger join the discussion. "It'd be the biggest archaeological find since King Tut's Tomb."

"Archaeological?" Noah asked, smiling as he heard this. Jake also smiled.

"I like that look, he's thought of something." Jake stated.

"Andrew Hartford is an archaeologist." He recalled. "I read in a magazine article he and his son go on digs all the time...Mack Hartford, the Red Overdrive Ranger!"

"Those who dig up History's answers." Troy said, nodding in agreement. "Archaeologists."

"Great, there's only one slight problem." Gia told them. "The Overdrive team have been bugged remember? We can't contact them without tipping off The Armada."

"Yeah, Gia's right." Jake agreed. "I mean, sure, they haven't replaced The Commodore yet, but if we go to San Angeles and ask for help, we may as well gift wrap ourselves and head on up to their mothership."

"Even if they want to help us, how can they without exposing themselves to backlash?" Emma concluded, thinking of the fact that so far the Overdrive Rangers had not suffered any further sanctions under The Armada's occupation. Troy thought about it for a while, before coming to a conclusion.

"Then we don't ask for their help." He told them.

"I'm sorry?" Gia asked him.

"We're pirates right?" Mack asked them. "We take what we need. The Armada can't exactly blame Mack for being kidnapped right?"

"Alright, setting in a course for San Angeles." Noah replied, heading to his station. Troy and the others all went to their positions as they prepared to begin their journey.

"Um...Troy, what about that whole last part?" Jake asked him. "You know, about the Guardian's Heart?"

"We can worry about that when we get there." Gia told him. "In the meantime, we need to figure out how we're going to make this kidnapping look convincing without hurting a fellow Ranger too much."

Meanwhile, over in San Angeles, Mack Hartford was sitting in the Hartford Mansion, his eyes glazed over as he flicked through one of his adventure novels. Spencer just noted the way he was flicking through it, and stopped his dusting, coming over to him.

"I believe you need to take a little time over the words to read them." He said as Mack just shut the book.

"I've read this Baron novel so many times I could recite it from memory." Mack grumbled, throwing the book aside. There were a bunch of other adventure novels next to him. Before his Ranger days, Mack had been heavily into his adventure novels, inspired by all of his dad's tales of the amazing adventures he had been on. He had spent every available hour he wasn't training in the vain hope of actually going on one of those adventures with his fantasy novels. In particular, he was fond of The Baron series, stories about a bored millionaire who travelled the world seeking out the treasures of past civilisations. He'd all but stopped reading those books during his Ranger days, and afterwards when he started to join his father on his journeys, the books didn't have the same appeal. After all, what was exciting about reading about a man jumping out of an aeroplane without a parachute or facing armed guerrilla fighters determined to steal some priceless artefact armed only with his wits and a pocket knife when there had been a time he called that a typical Tuesday?

Unfortunately, those adventures had been somewhat thin on the ground as of late. Since The Armada touched down, they had done everything they could to silence any and all possible resistance. As one of only two teams whose identities had been public knowledge who were able to be found, they were quickly brought in and questioned. They had done everything they could, claiming that they didn't know the identities of any other former Rangers, and satisfied The Armada that they didn't have any powers, and therefore weren't going to try and resist them. However, that still wasn't enough. They had all been fitted with tracking bracelets that would keep track of where they were, and even record their conversations in the vain hopes that some teams of Rangers would contact them. It wasn't long after that the problems started. For all the promises they could go back to their homes and their old lives, The Armada kept them on a short leash. Mack and his father had been questioned so many times any time they were about to head out on a perfectly innocent archaeological expedition, with The Armada worried they were looking for some way to restore their powers that it made any notion of such trips so wrapped up in red tape, it was all but impossible to go anywhere or do anything.

"If you're bored, might I suggest you find something else to do?" Spencer suggested. "Perhaps you could go and visit your friends? I'm sure Ms. Robinson would love to take you on a few laps of..."

"Spencer, I don't like motor racing OK?" Mack sighed. "I feel like I've done everything there is to do here. I'm going out of my mind here!"

"Well there's no need to snap at the help." Spencer replied a little grumpily. "I was only suggesting you might want to get out of the house for a while if your books are not providing you with any excitement."

"Leave the house and do what?" Mack asked him. "Because of this damned bracelet, I have to watch where I go, watch what I say..."

"Master Hartford, I understand you are frustrated..."

"Frustrated? I'm bored to death!" Mack yelled at him. "God, Ronny's still got her racing, Rose is back at the university, Will's got his security work, Dax...he's off directing the latest season of that stupid sitcom he works on...I practically get an armed guard jumping on me if I walk out the front door!"

"Master Harford, I understand your frustration, but you would be wise to remember we are not the only ones listening." Spencer reminded him. Mack just threw his hands up.

"You know what? It might just give me something to do if they tried to arrest me." Mack told him. "I'm just sick of all of this! I'm sick of looking at the inside of my house all day every day! I just wish something, ANYTHING would happen!"

Just as he said this, the front wall of the room was blown in, scattering furniture and broken glass in on them. Mack pulled himself up from the floor.

"I really should know better than to say things like that." He grumbled, checking around. Spencer was lying on the floor, pinned down by a fallen book case. Before Mack could go to help him though, he saw a figure coming in through the hole in the wall. He looked up, and his mouth hung open.

"Who...who are you?" He asked the stranger. Without an answer, the intruder fired a blast, knocking Mack to the floor unconscious. He gestured two others inside.

"Take him to the ship." He replied. Spencer was losing consciousness as he saw the White Mighty Morphin' Power Ranger and the Silver Space Ranger picking up Mack's lifeless body. The White Ranger cut off Mack's bracelet, tossing it aside as they turned and left. Spencer's world just faded into darkness.


	2. Beaten to the Punch

The Overdrive Rangers arrived at the Hartford Mansion as quickly as they could. Even though they had gone back to their own lives after their tenure, and they knew they had to be careful not to do anything that would mark them out as a potential threat now that they were being monitored by The Armada, hearing that one of theirs had been attacked was more than enough to over-ride any concerns of reprisals. Like any Ranger team, they had all formed deep bonds over their time fighting together.

Will, Rose, Dax and Ronnie all came into the house, finding Andrew still treating Spencer's wounds.

"We would have knocked, but...uh..." Will started to say, gesturing to the gaping hole in the front wall they had walked through to get in. "It seemed a little redundant."

"How are you?" Rose asked as she came to assist Andrew dealing with Spencer. The old butler was a terrible patient, very impatient and bad tempered. Despite his age, he wasn't exactly fragile, having served in the United Kingdom's Royal Navy in his youth. He maintained a lot of that mentality into his old age. He didn't like to let minor injuries slow him down, of course what he considered 'minor' was somewhat open to debate.

"I keep telling you sir, I'm fine." Spencer told him, trying to shoo Andrew away. Andrew Hartford just shook his head.

"Stubborn old bulldog." He muttered. "I just wish I had been here..."

"It wouldn't have done any good." Ronnie said in a comforting tone. "You'd probably just have been hurt or worse."

"What happened Spencer?" Dax asked him. "Who did this?"

"Rangers." He informed them. "They fired on the mansion. Before I lost consciousness...I saw two Rangers, a White Ranger and a Silver Ranger take him. They took him to a red ship."

"Rangers?" Rose asked him. "The Rangers attacked him? Why would they do that?"

"Who cares why they did it?" Will responded angrily. "They took Mack, and they hurt Spencer! They left him for dead!"

"But...they're the good guys right?" Dax asked in response. "We saw them at The White House!"

"Dax, there aren't exactly a huge number of Rangers running around these days." Will reminded him. "All the teams lost their powers! There only is one team!"

"Spencer said there was a Silver and White Ranger." Dax stated. "There isn't a White or Silver Ranger on this team."

"Dax, do you even watch the news?" Ronny asked him.

"Well, work on that sitcom keeps me kind of busy..."

"This team can turn into other teams! They can change their outfits!" Ronny informed him. "They probably just used a different set of powers!"

"Mr Hartford, I know the Armada seized most of your tech..."

"What do you take me for?" He interrupted Rose with a smile as he led them towards a panel in the wall. Moving a candlestick, it slid aside, revealing an entrance to the basement. He'd sealed off their old Command Centre under the mansion after Operation Overdrive ended, just in case. Needless to say, it wasn't something that he told The Armada about, but with his son missing, he figured he could worry about the consequences later.

He followed the Rangers down the fireman's poles, coming to rest in their Command Centre, and hit a switch, turning on a few lights...but not all of them.

"Oh." He muttered. "Um...I guess some of the bulbs need replaced..."

"Mr Hartford, how long exactly HAS it been since you've been down here?" Rose asked him, moving some cob webs off one of the computer banks. Will just looked to the massive metal globe in the centre, which was almost completely covered in the webs.

"I'd say it's been a while." Will answered. Mr Hartford just looked at them as Dax gathered up some flashlights, handing them out. It had been a while, almost seven years to be exact. The Overdrive team had been one of the "fortunate" teams, in that once their tenure ended, it truly seemed like their foes were gone for good. Moltor, Flurious, Kamdor, The Fearcats and even Thrax had all been destroyed. Miratrix had been trapped within a gem stone, but Mr Hartford had ensured that it was stored safely in a vault far from danger. They hadn't even needed to join forces with the Jungle Fury team afterwards, in short, once Operation Overdrive ended, so too did their Ranger days.

"I...I haven't actually been down here since Operation Overdrive ended." He admitted.

"I seem to remember more stuff down here..."

"The Federal Government cherry picked most of my tech as part of your immunity agreement." Mr Hartford informed them. Like most Ranger teams, the Overdrive team had caused their fair share of damage in their battles. It had cost Mr Hartford a small fortune, not to mention pulling every string he could within the Government to appease the many compensation claims levelled against them once the dust settled. The Government had agreed to waive any criminal charges they had racked up, and granted them full pardons for the laws they had broken. Unfortunately, the trade off was the concession that private citizens in possession of weapons technology the Government didn't have caused more than a few concerns. "Fortunately they left most of the computers."

"I guess they didn't let you rebuild the Zords." Ronny asked. He shook his head. "The Drill Blaster?"

"Not so much." He sighed sadly. "I have the Trans Tek armour in storage, it should still work...I think. It's probably best we service it."

"Well...it's a start I guess." Rose answered as she booted up more of the computers. "Dax, Will, can you do something about these lights? I'll see if I can track the movements of their ship."

Mack started to come to, only to find himself sitting in a large, open room. It was panelled with wood, and had ornate, antique furniture, reminding him of some of the palaces he had visited with his dad on their many journeys. They had met and dined with world leaders from the British Royal Family to Kim Jong-Il, and so he had seen his fair share of ostentatious decor. This was extravagant indeed for the inside of a ship. As he looked around, he saw four Rangers standing nearby. The White Mighty Morphin' Ranger, the Silver Space Ranger, the Green Samurai Ranger, and the Gold Samurai Ranger. He just rubbed his head as he tried to focus.

"Hey guys." He said, trying to sound confident. He didn't get an answer. He just smiled. "So, I guess you're using your ability to turn into different Rangers?"

He still didn't get any answer. The White Ranger just gestured to a table, which was set with fine, antique china, and ornate silver cutlery. Mack took this to mean he was meant to sit, and got up, starting to head to the table.

"OK, let's see...you two were before me, you were both Angel Grove Rangers." He stated, pointing to the White and Silver Rangers. "You...you were on Tori's team, I remember her telling me when she teamed up with us...you...you were after my time weren't you?"

The Gold Samurai Ranger didn't say anything as Mack pointed to him. He just moved the chair back, rattling it loudly on the floor for emphasis. Mack just sat down.

"You don't need to stay quiet; you already got rid of the bracelet." Mack told them. "Come on guys..."

"There's no point in talking to them, they don't talk back." He heard an unfamiliar voice saying. He turned towards the door as it opened, finding a man standing in the door frame. He looked like something out of a renaissance painting. He was taller than Mack, and had a slight build. He had smooth, angular features, and a kind of tanned flesh that looked like he had seen a lot of travel. He had long, dark hair that came down in long curls, resting over his shoulders, and a styled, pencil-thin moustache and beard. He spoke with an exotic accent that even Mack, despite his frequent travels couldn't even begin to place.

He was wearing a long, flowing crimson coat, that was trimmed with white fur, almost like a feather boa. He had a green flannel shirt, and matching trousers, which were tucked into long, leather boots. His head was topped with a cavalier style hat made of fine, black felt. He wore golden jewellery, many large rings, and an ostentatious necklace that gave him the appearance of someone who liked to flaunt his wealth. He had a long sabre strapped to his waist, and the handle of a pistol could just be seen under his coat.

"OK, the Gold guy I kind of remember seeing in a magazine a while back." Mack told him. "You, I've definitely never seen before."

"I am known as Lafitte." He told him, giving a sort of small bow to salute him.

"Either the Rangers have picked up a new ally, or these aren't the Rangers I've met." Mack responded warily, looking around the Rangers in the room. "I have a feeling it's the latter."

"That is very perceptive of you Mr Hartford." Lafitte stated as he approached the table. "I am looking for certain artefacts. I believe that is something of a speciality of yours."

"I'm an archaeologist." Mack told him. "It's kind of in the job description."

"So, you're a treasure hunter." Lafitte responded. "I suppose in that way, we are not so different."

"I've never kidnapped anyone." Mack put down abruptly. "Sure, I've bent the occasional law, and there have been a few misunderstanding with foreign governments...but I've never kidnapped anyone."

"I prefer the term shanghai." Lafitte answered, before presenting a Ranger key to him. It was the Omega Ranger key. "I've acquired some of these lately. Do you know what they are?"

"Pokemon?" Mack asked, feigning ignorance. Lafitte just smiled.

"They are called Ranger Keys." He informed Mack. "They contain the powers that used to belong to the Ranger they represent. Until recently, one of the Ranger Keys in my possession actually had the powers of your Mercury Ranger."

"So these guys...you've given them the powers of past Rangers?" Mack asked him. Lafitte just smirked.

"Something like that." He told him. "The Ranger Corsairs are searching for more of these keys. They are trying to unite all of the Past Rangers' powers."

"And I'm guessing you want the powers for yourself." Mack concluded. Lafitte just nodded. "Well, seeing as how you know who I am, the only question I have is, when there are Rangers looking for them, why would I help a pirate?"

"I prefer the title privateer." Lafitte corrected him. "And you seem to be under the mistaken impression you have a choice. We have learned from the Rangers that they are looking for Atlantis. I believe you know where that is."

"Atlantis?" Mack asked him. Lafitte just sighed.

"Oh, if you insist, we'll do this the hard way." Lafitte responded. He snapped his fingers at which the four Rangers all gathered around Mack. "Try not to damage him too much. I'll need him once we get to Atlantis."

As he turned to walk away, the White Ranger and Silver Ranger grabbed him, at which the Green Samurai and Gold Samurai started taking turns to punch him. Lafitte closed the door behind him as he made his way to the bridge.

Back at the Hartford Mansion, the remaining Overdrive Rangers were taking stock of their situation. As Ronny came into the room, she was carrying a tool kit, with grease covering her hands and arms.

"The Trans Tec armour is back online." She informed them. "The Sharc is still in working order too, so we should be able to catch up to them."

"These still seem to work." Will added, placing a few blasters down on the table. "It's not much, but it's what we have."

"We've faced worse odds." Andrew reminded them.

"I just know I would be happier if at least we had our civilian powers." Ronny grumbled, glaring at the tracking bracelet. "Stupid bracelet."

"Well, because of those stupid bracelets, we know we can probably expect The Armada any minute." Andrew reminded them. "We need to find them..."

"I don't think that's going to be a problem." Rose informed them. "I tracked the last sightings of their ship from police and military transmissions. According to this, they're coming here."

"They're coming here?" Will asked her. "Why would they come back?"

"I don't know, but if my calculations are right...they should be arriving any time now." Rose told them.

"We know better than to doubt your calculations." Mr Hartford stated, picking up one of the blasters.

"Mr Harford..."

"They have my son!" Andrew interrupted Will. "I might not have become Overdrive Red like I intended, but if they've got my son; they'll have hell to pay."

On the Galleon, Troy and the other Rangers were making their way over San Angeles. Emma checked the long range scans.

"No signs of any ships." She called across to Troy. "I can't see any signs of ground forces either. I don't think there's a garrison here."

"It looks like we might just be in luck." Gia said with a smile. "We might be able to get in and pick Mack up before anyone notices. By the time anyone responds, we could be well on our way to Atlantis."

As they made their way over the city though, Noah seemed to notice something odd. Pulling up a long-range image, he enlarged it, finding the mansion with a huge, gaping hole in the front wall.

"Uh...I'm going out on a limb and suggesting that's not a good sign." Noah stated.

"And what would you say that is?" Jake asked, pointing down as the Trans Tek Armour crashed out through the wall, enlarging the hole in it. Rose, Will, Ronny and Dax all spilled out onto the lawn as the Trans Tec Armour aimed its cannons at their ship.

"I'd say that's even less good." Noah replied as it fired across their bow in warning.

"They're obviously pissed about something." Troy told them. "If they're using weapons like that openly, they obviously aren't worried about consequences."

"What are they firing on us for?" Gia asked.

"I don't know, but we can ask them once we make them stop." Troy answered, getting up from his chair. "Come on guys, let's shut them down."

Meanwhile, back on Lafitte's ship, the privateer returned to the dining room, finding his Ranger puppets still beating on Mack. He said something to them in an unfamiliar language, at which they stopped. He looked to Mack as he was shoved into a chair.

"Are you ready to be a little more co-operative?" He asked, offering Mack a handkerchief. Mack just nodded as he accepted it, beginning to mop up his lip. Lafitte took out a map, placing it down in front of Mack.

"Where is Atlantis?" He demanded. Mack took a look at the map, before jabbing a finger into it.

"Here." He told him. Lafitte just smiled.

"Well, now we know where we're going." Lafitte told him. "I don't suppose you'd mind staying a little longer would you? I think it would be good to have a guide who has been to the city before."

"Well, with hospitality like this, how can I refuse?" Mack asked him. Lafitte just went to the bridge, leaving his four Ranger puppets to guard Mack. The former Red Overdrive Ranger just sat back, keeping his eye on the Rangers. He had shown Lafitte the location of Atlantis, but he remembered from the time he had been there that the city and the surrounding caves were full of dangerous traps. He hoped it would be enough to delay them until his friends figured out what had happened and sent the Rangers after them. He didn't know a lot about the Rangers, but having only known Lafitte a short time, he knew who he would prefer to take those powers.


	3. City Beneath the Waves

As the Rangers rapelled down from the Galleon, they found themselves immediately targeted by the Overdrive Rangers' blasters. They hadn't morphed yet, knowing that the Overdrive team didn't have Ranger powers anymore themselves, and so they were hoping to be able to shut them down without too many problems. However, as the blasts narrowly missed them, it became clear that they were far from helpless.

"Alright guys, we need to shut them down and quickly!" Troy called out. "Just remember, they are Rangers! Don't harm them any more than you have to!"

They all released their lines, morphing as they fell through the air to protect them from the fall, and the firepower. As they headed towards the Overdrive team, Troy levelled his pistol at Andrew in the Trans Tec armour.

"I'll take care of him!" Troy instructed them. "Deal with the others!"

Gia rushed towards Ronny, swinging out her cutlass on a line, disarming her. As she closed in on her predecessor, tackling her to the ground, she pinned her there, keeping her pistol trained on her.

"Get off me!" Ronny demanded as she started to struggle.

"Just give it up, you can't win like this." Gia told her as the others went after the remaining Overdrive Rangers. "You might still have some toys, but we have powers! We don't want to hurt you!"

"You made a huge mistake coming back here!" Ronny spat at her. Gia furrowed her brows as she heard her say this. "What happened? Did Mack refuse to tell you what you wanted to know? Do you need more hostages?"

"Wait...come BACK here?" Gia asked her. Her head snapped up as she heard an almighty crash. Troy had sliced one of the legs off the Trans Tec armour, causing it to fall to the ground. The others were making quick work of restraining the other Rangers. Gia saw the damage to the front of the mansion and then back to Ronny. "Guys STOP!"

The others had managed to restrain the others, while Troy was just finishing carving Andrew out of the Trans Tec armour, hauling him out. Gia offered Ronny a hand.

"I'm putting my weapons away." Gia assured her. "If you promise to hear us out and not start attacking us, can you tell us what happened here?"

"You kidnapped my son!" Andrew called out. "You fired on my home, you attacked..."

"Sir, Sir!" Spencer yelled as he started to hobble out onto the lawn, still showing the effects of the earlier attack. "Sir, we've made a terrible mistake! Stop fighting!"

The Rangers all looked among each other, then back to Spencer. The Overdrive team was obviously more than a little cautious.

"What are you talking about Spencer?" Will asked him. "You said the Rangers took Mack onto a red ship."

"Yes, I did." Spencer told them. "But not THAT ship!"

He produced an I-pad from his jacket, and pulled up some surveillance footage, showing the attack. All of the Rangers gathered around as he showed them the ship.

"That's a different ship. So what?" Will demanded. "It's not like we only had one ride back in our day."

"That ship isn't ours." Troy replied as the Corsair Rangers de-morphed to face them on a more even term.

"From the looks of it, I'd say that's The Commodore's old ship." Noah told them with authority. He had shot it down a couple of weeks earlier, and recognised it. "It's had a paint job, and some other work done to it by the looks of things, but I'd recognise it anywhere."

"So The Armada salvaged his ship?" Jake asked.

"You said Rangers took Mack right?" Emma asked Spencer.

"The White Mighty Morphin' Ranger and the Silver Space Ranger." Spencer confirmed. Emma just looked to the others.

"We don't have those keys yet." Noah sighed. "I think it's our new stalker."

"Wait, what's going on?" Rose asked. Troy pulled the Red Mighty Morphin' key out of his belt buckle, flicking it open.

"These Ranger keys, that's what we're looking for." He explained. "If we have the right key, we can access the powers, weapons and abilities of the Ranger that used to use them."

"The only issue is, all the keys are scattered, so we have to find them first." Emma continued. "Not to mention the fact that we recently found out someone else is looking for Ranger keys, someone that can apparently turn them into puppets."

"Puppets?" Dax asked, looking confused.

"It's like...having his own Rangers." Noah explained. "They can't talk, and they obey his commands apparently, but other than that, they have the powers of the Rangers they represent."

"The Rangers that took Mack didn't speak." Spencer confirmed. "Only the other man did."

"What other man?" Troy asked him. Spencer just looked to him.

"He was dressed...a little like you. Like a pirate." Spencer explained. "But it wasn't you was it?"

"Great, and while we've had this little cross-generational throw down, the guy who really took Mack is getting away!" Gia complained, before looking to the others. "We're sorry about what happened, but if you want Mack back, the best way you can do that is help us. We think whoever took him is heading for Atlantis."

"Atlantis?" Andrew responded. "We found it years ago. The only reason I didn't reveal its location to the world is because there are dangerous artefacts down there. Things that should never be put in the hands of anyone..."

"Well, we have another pirate on his way there right now, looking for your Ranger keys." Jake interrupted him. "And something tells me that once he's got them, Mack's going to find himself like that giraffe in Copenhagen. Surplus to requirement."*

"Then we've got no time to lose." Andrew stated. "Can you get the tracking bracelets off the others?"

"We knew we probably wouldn't be able to take you without powers." Will continued. "But we knew it wouldn't be long until The Armada showed up once they heard what was going on."

"OK, then don't say anything that can lead them to Atlantis until we get the bracelets off. Noah, you get to work on that once we're back on the ship." Troy instructed him. "Come on guys, this dirt bag's got a big head start, and The Armada can't be far away."

Meanwhile, on the other ship, Mack was sitting by the table, having been served a meal for the journey. It was still sitting, untouched on the plate. As Lafitte came in, he just looked to the plate and furrowed his brows.

"Is the meal not to your liking?" He asked.

"I was a little put off by the company." He answered, gesturing to the four Ranger puppets that were standing around him. Lafitte just smiled.

"Yes, they aren't the most sociable bunch are they?" He asked. He pulled a trumpet out of his coat, and slotted a Ranger key into it. As he played, the key turned in the valve, and disappeared. Mack watched as in a flash of light, the Wild Force Wolf Ranger appeared in the room. Mack just looked to him.

"That's an impressive trick." He commented. Lafitte just smiled, showing him the trumpet.

"It's a little device of my own design." He informed him. "When I found the first of my Ranger Keys, it was obvious they held great power. It just took a while for me to figure out how to unlock it."

"So how many do you have?" Mack asked him. Lafitte just smirked, patting the treasure chest on the edge of his seat.

"I know better than to reveal all my cards until the last cards have been dealt." Lafitte replied. "Anyway, we're almost at the co-ordinates you specified.

He snapped his fingers, at which a door opened, and a large creature shuffled in. It was a huge, hulking, armoured creature, that rattled as it moved, but as it got closer, Mack got a look at its face. He almost started laughing.

"You're kidding right?" Mack asked.

"Is there a problem?" Lafitte asked as his henchman handed him some shackles. Mack just gestured to the creature. Aside from the armour, it had a large, red face, with a somewhat vacant expression. Mack just gestured to it.

"Your henchman is a monkey?" Mack asked him. Lafitte just looked confused.

"Your point is?"

"Your henchman! IS! A MONKEY!" Mack reiterated, punctuating for emphasis. "You've got to be kidding me!"

"Colo here has been a loyal companion for some time now." Lafitte told him, patting the creature's helmet. "And she is much more than just a monkey."

He took Mack's wrists and snapped the manacles around them, satisfying himself that they were locked in place.

"Well, I don't mean to point out problems, but in case you didn't realise, Atlantis is under the ocean." Mack reminded him. "So, unless you have a submarine somewhere nearby..."

"Believe me; I have made a number of upgrades to this ship." Lafitte assured him. Mack just watched out the port hole as it started to descend. There was a slight jolt as it hit the surface of the ocean, but before long, it started to submerge. "I'll be back for you shortly. I'd hate to think there are any nasty surprises waiting for me."

"In the city of Hades? Of course not." Mack replied sarcastically. Lafitte just walked out of the room, leaving Mack with the Rangers and Colo. He looked up to the hulking creature and smiled.

"You know, you remind me a lot of the last guy that had me locked up." He stated, thinking about the time he had been imprisoned by Moltor and Flurious. They had ended up leaving Norg to keep an eye on him, a decision they quickly came to regret. "So tell me, how do you like geraniums?"

On the Red Galleon, Dax was the last of the Overdrive Rangers to have his bracelet removed. Noah had quickly figured out a way to cut them off without hurting the Rangers. Tossing the last bracelet out of the window, he joined Troy and Andrew by the map.

"So you're certain it's here?" Troy asked him. "It has been seven years."

"Believe me, I remember it." Andrew Hartford assured him. "Not revealing the location of Atlantis was the hardest decision I ever made. It would have made the discovery of King Tut's tomb look like finding pocket change in Pompeii."

"Atlantis is just off the coast of Los Angeles?" Gia asked him incredulously. He just nodded.

"The Ancient Greeks sailed a lot farther than many people realise." He stated with authority. "Hades wasn't just the God of the Underworld, he also oversaw banking and expansion. The rumours of Atlantis' technological advancement were no exaggeration. From what I observed, they were centuries ahead of where they should have been. The wealth and power of the city state was legendary."

"So why did it sink?" Jake asked him. Andrew just looked to him.

"There are many theories, but the most common one states that Poseidon was jealous of his little brother's power." He continued. "Poseidon was second only to Zeus in matters of power and worship. The Greeks were an expansionist, seafaring people. Sailing was an important part of their lives, so most Greeks prayed to Poseidon almost as often as they prayed to Zeus..."

"But Hades had a more powerful city." Jake interrupted him. Andrew just nodded.

"Not bad for the runt of the litter who was told to play in the Underworld because no one else wanted it." He told him. "The chances are it was basic continental or tidal shifts that caused the island to sink; you know what the seismic activity in California is like, but to a superstitious people like the Greeks..."

"It was divine intervention." Jake concluded. "They saw a city being flooded and chalked it up to Poseidon being pissed."

"It wouldn't be the first time something like that happened." Andrew told them. "When I found Sodom..."

"OK, as fascinating as I'm sure that story's going to be, can we concentrate on Atlantis for now?" Rose asked. "It's hundreds of feet beneath the ocean, tucked under a ledge caused by a massive tectonic plate shift thousands of years ago. Last time we went down in my sub, but..."

"I have a sub." Emma informed them. "You don't need to worry about that."

"I'm picking up some radio chatter." Will added. "The Armada ships have seen what's left of the mansion, and they're looking for us. They're heading this direction."

"Great, so we have some time before they show up." Troy concluded. "Gia, how are the underwater scans looking?"

"I've got a large heat signature; it looks like a craft of some kind already down there." She told him.

"I guess our competition's ahead of us." Troy commented.

"There's also something else." Gia told him. "I've got some strange seismic readings, and a lot of heat...it's like something's happening from under the Earth down there."

"That's odd." Rose answered. "I mean, I know about the seismic activity in this area, but its all plate movement. There hasn't been an eruption in this area in centuries."

"Why is nothing ever simple?" Noah grumbled.

"All it means is we have to be cautious. If something is going on down there, it could complicate matters." Troy announced. "We'll go. We know this guy has more Ranger Keys, so we should go, but we'll need a guide."

"I'll go." Andrew stated. "Other than Mack, I know the most about the kinds of dangers we could be facing down here."

"The rest of you wait up here." Troy continued. "There's bound to be ships arriving soon, but Tensou can utilise the weapons system..."

"Just tell us what to do." Will interrupted him. "The way I see it, we're fugitives. By now The Armada will know about the weapons we hid from them. They're going to arrest us when they find us anyway."

"Yeah, we might not be Rangers anymore, but we know how to fight." Dax added. Troy just nodded.

"Tensou, give them a crash course in how to use the weapons systems." Troy told him. "Mr Hartford, come with us. The sub is this way."

Meanwhile, under the ocean, Lafitte's ship rose up, breaking the surface of the water inside the city's perimeter. It came as close as possible to the shore, before a hatch in the rear opened, and a boarding bridge extended. Lafitte walked out of the ship, looking around at the city before him with a huge grin. Mack was being dragged along behind him by Colo, while the five Rangers brought up the rear.

"You've got to hand it to them; those Atlanteans did make the best of a bad situation." He commented, looking to Mack. "So, which way do we go from here?"

"You're asking me?" Mack asked him. "You're looking for something the size of a car key in a whole city!"

"The clue said something about a great treasure, the Heart of the Guardian." Lafitte told him. Mack just looked to him, his expression slipping a little. He looked a little pale.

"I...I...I wouldn't know anything about that." He tried to say. Lafitte just laughed.

"You're a terrible liar, do you know that?" He asked him. "It is an admirable trait. At least, it is advantageous to me."

Mack just shook his head.

"You don't want anything to do with that." Mack told him.

"If that's where I need to go to find your Ranger Keys, then that's where we're going!" Lafitte snapped at him. "Now tell me what I want to know!"

Mack looked around at the other Rangers and sighed, realising he was in no position to argue right now.

"It's a precious gem." Mack told him. "It's in a vault in the city's main palace. I can take you there."

"Now, that's more like it." He replied. "You don't mind leading the way do you? Places like this have a nasty habit of being booby trapped."

As Mack was shoved to the front of the group, he reached into his pocket, and took out some change. He made his way along the path, making sure to drop a couple of coins to lead whoever was following them the right way.

As they left though, they didn't notice a bright red glow coming from a crack between some rocks. As the split hit the water of the bay, a small puff of steam rose into the air.


	4. The Treasure of Atlantis

The Rangers and Andrew Hartford were all crammed into Emma's submarine as it made its way through the ocean. Andrew was up at the controls with Emma, helping her navigate her way to the lost city.

In the back, Jake was giggling as the others waited for word on their progress.

"What?" Noah asked.

"It's...it's silly." Jake told him. "Just ignore me."

"No, go on." Gia pressed on. "It's not like we have anything better to do until we get there."

"I was just thinking." Jake continued to snigger. "If Jordan had assigned the sub to Gia..."

Gia just rolled her eyes and threw something at him as the others laughed.

"Don't even say it." She warned him.

"Guys, keep the noise down will you?" Emma told them. "You might want to see this."

As they all assembled near the front, they looked out and marvelled at the sight before them.

"If I hadn't seen it myself...Mr Burley would be sick with jealousy if he knew about this." Noah commented, taking a couple of images of the city. He knew that Mr Burley was incredibly fond of some of science's greatest mysteries and conspiracy theories. Despite his devotion to science, he had never earned the scepticism a lot of scientists did, and still believed not only in the mysteries of the universe, but also that science instead of being a tool to scorn and discredit these myths and legends, was a way to prove and explain the things mankind wasn't yet ready to understand. "I can't believe I'm really going to the Lost City of Atlantis!"

"Believe me; a lot of people would love to know about this." Mr Hartford informed them. "From the last time we were here, we figured out that the Atlanteans knew what was about to happen to them. Most of the city is built to create a natural atmosphere. People actually lived on Atlantis for years after it sank."

"So what happened to them?" Jake asked. "Why aren't there any Atlanteans now?"

"What happens to any great civilisation?" Dr Hartford asked him. "The Greeks, the Romans, the Babylonians, the Carthaginians...eventually they all just grew to their natural zenith and started to crumble. It's an inevitability of all civilisations."

"That's...kind of depressing." Emma commented. Dr Hartford just smiled.

"It depends on the way you look at it." He answered. "When a great civilisation collapses, it gives us another chance to begin again from scratch. To create something better."

"That's odd." Emma commented. "The external scans say the water temperature is increasing rapidly."

"It's probably down to the tectonic activity we measured earlier." Andrew responded. "It seems stable now, but it could be a problem."

"Great, like we don't have enough of them." Jake grumbled.

"The best thing we can do is make this quick." Troy stated bluntly. "We get in, get Mack and the keys and get out. This city sank once, and I'm damned if we're going to be here for it sinking again."

"I think I see the way in." Emma told them. She gripped the controls tightly, guiding the sub into the city. As they rose up into a bay, they found themselves coming to rest on a harbour next to Lafitte's ship.

"Atlantis, here we are." Jake said as they stepped out onto the docks. Before them, the city spread out in an awe inspiring sight.

"Multi-story sky-scrapers, cement, glass-shaping..." Noah rhymed off, beholding the architecture before him. "If they were building like this almost four thousand years ago...they really were light-years ahead of everyone else!"

Just then, they heard a slight cracking. They all turned to see some of the rock faces splitting open. Troy approached one of them, placing his hand close to the crack.

"The air coming through is hot." He informed them. "It looks like the tectonic shifts are worse than we thought. We need to get moving."

"Check this out!" Jake called to them. As they ran over to him, he bent down, picking up a coin and showing it to them. "I know the Atlanteans were advanced, but unless they were minting quarters almost three thousand years before America was colonised..."

"Mack's leaving us a trail." Andrew said with a smile. "That's my son alright. He's always thinking on his feet."

"This creep probably took Mack with him." Gia concluded. "He's probably worried about booby traps."

"It they're headed where I think they are, it's a smart precaution." Andrew said with a sigh. "Come with me. It's this way."

Meanwhile, deeper within the city, Mack was walking ahead of Lafitte's little party. Between the hulking ape Colo, and the five Ranger puppets, Mack knew he was outmatched. Right now, he was just doing what he could to delay them, hoping that the Rangers were catching up.

The Green Samurai Ranger shoved him roughly as he slowed down a little, much to Mack's annoyance. They were on a narrow walkway hundreds of feet above the city streets, heading towards a large, central building. It was the vault built into the temple of Hades. Just like the Underworld itself, it had been built to be inaccessible to all but those that were meant to be there. Its walls were made of a shiny metal that hadn't the slightest blemish, despite the many years it had been here. The gates were some distance away, approachable only by the bridge, and were forged with a massive image depicting Hades himself t the gates. Mack just gestured to the bridge.

"Well, there you go." He announced. Lafitte just looked to him sceptically.

"You there!" He called out, pointing to the White Mighty Morphin' Ranger. He then pointed to the gates.

Mack watched as the White Ranger made his way dutifully across the bridge. He didn't even get half way across before there was a huge, bellowing roar. As they looked up the tower, they saw a massive metal claw clamping down on the rooftop. Shortly afterwards, a robotic hound with three ferocious looking heads came into view.

The robot leapt down, narrowly avoiding the White Ranger as he back-flipped out of harm's way.

"Did you really think I'd not account for there being security measures?" Lafitte asked him. Mack just shrugged.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I know I don't have any idea how to destroy that thing." Mack told him. Lafitte just pointed at the creature, at which all five of his Ranger puppets attacked.

Mack watched them battle with the robot, their weapons smashing against its armoured hull as the hound slashed out with massive claws, and fired missiles their way. Lafitte was keeping an eye on the battle, but as he looked aside to Mack out the corner of his eye, he saw Mack looking to a statue that he hadn't noticed.

It was a gaunt, cloaked figure, cast in bronze. Its hand was outstretched. Lafitte saw that Mack looked at the statue, and made his way over.

"Of course, how foolish of me." He chuckled as he pushed the former Red Ranger out of the way. His Ranger puppets continued their battle as Lafitte inspected the statue. "I forgot to pay the ferryman."

He looked to the statue of Charon, and then to his party. He eventually made a decision, twisting off three of his rings. He placed them on the outstretched palm of the statue. Charon closed his hand around the rings, and pulled his hand inside his cloak.

At that moment, the robotic form of Cerberus suddenly stopped attacking. The robot simply turned around and leapt back up onto the top of the tower. Mack just looked to Lafitte.

"You know your legends." Mack complimented him. Lafitte smiled.

"I find it helpful at times." He replied. "Colo, I paid for three. Bring our guest. The rest of you, wait here. If you see anyone else approaching, deal with them."

Colo dragged Mack with them as they headed to the gates of the vault, leaving his Rangers to guard the entrance.

At that point, the Corsair Rangers arrived, with Andrew in tow. They saw the five Ranger Puppets arrayed before them. The White Mighty Morphin' Ranger, the Wild Force Wolf Ranger, the Green Samurai Ranger, the Silver Space Ranger and the Gold Samurai Ranger.

"Great, more puppets." Gia muttered.

"Damn, the Green Samurai was one of my favourites!" Noah complained.

"I don't think that's the most important point right now." Emma stated.

"Come on guys; let's make a show of this!" Troy called out as they all morphed, ready for action.

Andrew watched them take on the Ranger Puppets, and knew that time was growing short. Seeing that the vaults doors were open, he could only presume Lafitte was already inside with his son.

He saw the statue of Charon, and realising what he had to do, he took off his Rolex, placing it in the statue's hand. He ducked and dived, avoiding attacks as he ran across the bridge, hoping he was not too late to save his son.

Lafitte looked around as he saw the treasures within. There were some gems and some gold, but most of the room was filled with scrolls, books and scientific instruments.

"You can tell a lot about a civilisation by what it considers its most valuable treasures." He commented. "Now, where is the Heart?"

He looked around the room, inspecting each of the treasures in turn. Colo held Mack in place, ensuring he didn't try to interfere with the search.

Lafitte seemed to take his time, considering everything in turn, before his eyes rested on something in the middle of the room. It was a statue of Hades, sitting on his throne, observing the lands of the Underworld. As he approached it, he knocked on the chest, hearing that it was hollow.

"Of course." He chuckled in understanding. "The most advanced and intelligent people on the planet. People would expect a much less obvious answer." Lafitte commented. He pulled out his pistol, levelling it at the statue. As he pulled the trigger, the chest exploded, revealing a cavity within. Inside, he found a large, black gem. The Heart of Hades.

As he climbed up to the statue, and reached inside, he ignored The Heart completely, and instead, scrambled around, finding what he was looking for. Mack felt his heard growing cold as he saw the five Overdrive keys in his hand.

"Thank you for all your assistance Mr Hartford." He said with a smile. "I dare say I couldn't have done this without you."

"So...what happens now?" Mack asked him. "Is this where you seal me up in here to be found in a few centuries?"

"My plans are a little more immediate than that." Lafitte answered as he levelled his pistol Mack's way. He was only interrupted as Andrew arrived. He saw the scene unfolding before him, and doubled over, resting his hands on his knees to catch his breath.

"Ah...so you followed us." Lafitte stated. "Is this where you beg me to spare your son?"

Andrew looked up, seeing Colo holding Mack in place, and Lafitte standing in front of him. He smiled as he saw something else.

"Come on Mack. You're not going to take that from THEM are you?" He asked. Lafitte just started laughing.

"What exactly do you think he's going to...?"

His words were cut off as Colo was launched into him, scattering both of them across the floor. The surprise of the attack meant that Lafitte had dropped the keys. He dived across the floor, snatching up the keys, keeping his head down as Mack grabbed the statue of Hades, tearing it up out of the floor. Lafitte looked on in horror.

"Thanks for cutting off my bracelet." Mack told him, before throwing the statue at him, smashing into both Lafitte and Colo, sending them sprawling out onto the bridge. Mack snapped the manacles on his hands dismissively. "I could have done that any time! All I needed was the opportunity."

As Lafitte was about to attack though, the whole city started to shake. Everyone looked around as the whole place started to shake. Far below, the ground started to split open.

"Dad, what's going on?" Mack asked him.

"Nothing good." Andrew told him. As they rushed out of the vault, everyone was holding onto the bridge for dear life.

"We need to get out of here!" Andrew told them. "You need to get us back to the sub!"

Troy looked reluctantly to the Ranger Puppets, and Lafitte. There were ten Ranger Keys at stake, the five Overdrive keys, and the five puppets under Lafitte's control. As a large piece of stone fell, smashing on the bridge, he realised that there were more important things, like getting out alive.

"Come on!" Troy roared. "We're going!"

As the Corsair Rangers took out grappling hooks, hooking them to the walkways to begin the descent to the ground, Noah grabbed Mack, while Jake grabbed Andrew. They threw themselves off the bridge, quickly making their way back to the streets. They had to take great care not to fall into cracks that were slowly leaking molten magma into the streets.

As they ran through the streets, Troy managed to take a glance upwards, and saw Colo, with Lafitte clinging to him for dear life, climbing frantically, leaping from building to building in a frantic race to get back to his ship.

"Troy, heads up!" Noah yelled. Troy only just looked up in time to see large, red, reptilian creatures climbing up from the magma beneath the ground.

"Lava Lizards!" Mack yelled.

"What are they?" Emma asked.

"All you need to know is they're bad news!" Mack answered. Troy cut down two of them as they got to the harbour. He could see Lafitte boarding his ship, giving a little wave as he went.

"Troy, there are more of them coming in!" Jake told him, pointing to the Lava Lizards. Andrew watched them, and realised that far from attacking, all the Lava Lizards seemed to be concerned with was rushing upwards, towards the vault.

"Mr Hartford, we need to go!" Troy told him. Andrew didn't seem to respond, just looking up towards the vault as the first of the Lava Lizards reached the level of the Vault.

"DAD!" Mack called to him. "We need to go!"

Andrew just nodded, and boarded the submarine. The Rangers hurriedly made their way out of the city, gunning the engines to clear the city before its destruction. Once they were safely clear, Emma just sighed.

"The Scans show no sign of that other creep's ship." Gia told them.

"Lafitte." Mack told them. "He called himself Lafitte."

"Well, whoever he is, he just got away with ten Ranger Keys." Jake said in frustration. Mr Hardford opened his hand.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that." He told them. Troy smiled as he saw this.

"You got them?" He asked.

"Lafitte believed he'd thought of everything." Mack explained. "But when he cut off my bracelet, I got my genetic power back. I just needed to wait until I could catch him off guard."

"Never underestimate a Ranger." Jake said sagely. "No matter how long they've been retired."

"He might have got away with his own Ranger Keys, but thanks to you, he didn't get any more." Emma said, sounding impressed. "So, that's a win."

"Well...maybe not." Andrew told them. "I was worried about going to Atlantis. There's a reason we've never gone near that city. The Ranger keys weren't the only thing there."

"Why don't I like the sound of this?" Jake asked.

"There were many dangerous artefacts in Atlantis, the most dangerous of which was the Heart of Hades." He explained. "Legend has it that Hades himself gifted a gem to the rulers of Atlantis in recognition of the power they brought him. Legend has it that the Heart of Hades possesses the power to restore someone from the Land of the Dead."

"Wait...you freaked out when you saw those Lava Lizards." Mack interjected, looking to his father. "You don't really think they'd bring him back do you?"

Before he could answer though, they were interrupted as the comms system burst into life.

"Guys, are you there?" Will's voice called out. "We've got a lot of company up here! The Armada's here, and they are seriously grouchy!"

"We're almost there." Emma assured him, checking her scanners. "Just hold on a little longer!"

Meanwhile, back in Atlantis, one of the Lava Lizards finally managed to get into the vault. It bent down, picking up the Heart of Hades, and let out a tremendous scream of triumph. Their patience had been rewarded at long last.


	5. The Privateer

By the time Emma's submarine broke the surface of the ocean, The Armada's ships were in the area. The Overdrive Rangers were already locked in a deadly battle with them, the ship's cannon tearing through the attack ships.

Troy saw Lafitte's ship taking advantage of the confusion, racing away from The Armada ships.

"Try and keep tabs on him!" Troy called to Gia. "Emma, give the Galleon a hand."

"Our scanners are trying, but they can't lock onto his ship." Gia informed him. "Something about his ship is blocking our signal. Once he's out of view...he's gone!"

Troy had to think for a moment to size up his options. Although they had lucked out and managed to get the Overdrive Keys from him, the fact was that they knew he had more Ranger Keys with him. He had at least five more keys, keys that Troy knew they would need. He cast a gaze to where Will and the others were piloting the Galleon, fighting off the small fleet. It was obvious that they were targeting the Galleon in preference to Lafitte. He could only presume that because of their earlier run-ins, The Armada was focused on them, and possibly didn't even know about another enemy. He just looked to Emma.

"Emma, keep them off the Galleon." Troy instructed her. "Noah, take your jet and give them a hand. Jake, Gia, you come with me onto the Galleon."

As they made their way out of the sub, climbing on top of it, they morphed, firing with their pistols as they grabbed the grappling lines, being whisked onto the Galleon. As they arrived on the deck, Troy allowed himself one last glance, seeing Lafitte's ship disappearing in the distance. It frustrated him that they couldn't pursue.

"There'll be other treasure hunts!" Jake assured him. "We'll get other chances to get his keys."

Troy just nodded in agreement as Noah leapt into his jet to assist the Galleon. He followed Gia and Jake below deck, finding Will, Rose, Ronny and Dax doing their best to bring the guns to bear on targets.

"We're glad to see you." Dax told them. "This is so different from our Zords! We tried..."

"You did a good job." Jake told him as he took over Dax's station. "It takes some getting used to."

By the time Troy and Gia took their positions, the tide of the battle was already turning. Emma and Noah had already managed to cut the fleet almost in half.

"The last ships are turning." Gia told him. "I think they're leaving!"

"They're picking up speed." Jake confirmed. "They're definitely in a hurry!"

"Let them go." Troy instructed them. "They've got the message."

"Emma, Noah, prepare to dock." Gia told them. "It looks like the last of them have somewhere to be."

"So, you guys USED to be the Megaforce right?" Dax asked them. "So does that make this a SUPER Mega Win?"

Gia just sighed, face-palming as she heard this.

"You are such a dork." She reprimanded him. Troy just looked to him.

"OK, I know I said some dumb stuff before, but I'm NOT saying that." He answered. "It just sounds too stupid, even for me. Alright, let's get the ship somewhere safe. We have a lot to talk about."

Meanwhile, in orbit, on the bridge of The Armada's flagship, one of the robot crew members turned off the communications link. It turned towards the chamber.

"The attack fleet has been defeated." The robot informed him. "I am afraid they have been forced into a retreat Prince Vekar."

Prince Vekar, the ruler of The Armada, the Commander in Chief just looked to the robot, taking in this latest news.

He hadn't deigned to go to the Earth himself. That was far beneath his station. His wave of conquest had swept through several solar systems before now. The only real stumbling block in the expansion of his empire had been Earths surprising level of resistance.

He was tall, and had a very regal bearing as he surveyed the bridge of his ship like a throne room. He had smooth, pale features and his clothing was made of the finest materials available to his kind. He wore flowing white clothing, with an icy blue trim. The head dress and chest plate of silver were highly ornate, acting as much as a demonstration of his noble blood and position as ruler of The Armada as armour. He bore more than a small resemblance to Vrak, not surprising considering he was his brother. He let out a sigh at the news.

"These Rangers are an aggravation I could do without." He mused. "Argus, Lavira, our invasion went well. The humans barely put up a fight. I have complete control of the whole planet. All except for these children!"

"Yes my prince! The destruction of The Commodore was a huge surprise." Argus, The Prince's bodyguard answered. Argus was a hideous droid, covered in thick, silver armour and copper piping. He had been created by Vekar's lead scientist, Lavira as a bodyguard back in the beginning, when he knew his brother Vrak would have to leave his side and go with the Warstar to begin work, clearing the way for his invasion. "They are much stronger than we expected.

"I wish I could create a device that could locate your lost brother Vrak." Lavira told him sympathetically, coming to Vekar's side. She was an almost insect like creature, predominantly black with green stripes. She had a couple of cybernetic devices attached to her to assist in her role as his leading science and technical officer. She had a red visor over her eyes that allowed her to activate a number of different scans. She had followed him faithfully since he had brought her into his service many years earlier. He was aware of the fact that she was attracted to him. He took her hand, removing it from his clothing.

"Thank you." He responded, making his way past her to the control console. His brother, as part of their wider scheme, had gone with the Warstar many years before, swearing fealty to them and joining them on their campaign. Vekar had known that a war against the Warstar, while it was possible they could win, would ultimately be a costly affair that would have weakened his own empire. When Vrak had told him of his plan to convince the Warstar that they had surrendered by assassinating the King, only to sabotage them once they had done the heavy lifting claiming several solar systems for them to take for themselves, he had been only too quick to agree.

Vrak, more of a schemer than he was, had engineered a way for Vekar to increase the size of their empire, and rid themselves of a powerful enemy all at the same time. That he had, in doing so, also cleared the way for Vekar to inherit the whole empire much earlier than he had expected was an added bonus. Unfortunately, after he had engineered The Warstar's destruction, and betrayed them, that was when the plan fell out of control.

He had sent his envoy, The Messenger, once he had received word of Malkor's demise to assist his brother in clearing the way for his arrival. Studying his brother's reports of the Earth's capabilities, he had figured that humans didn't really possess the means to present a significant threat to his main forces, and had figured that The Messenger and Vrak would be able to accomplish the victory without him needing to expend any real resources on it. He knew full well about the presence of the last of the Eltarians, and of the powers he possessed, but they had even begun their plan to counter that. He was sure that by the time his ships arrived, he would be able to touch down with no resistance.

However, by the time he got there, all he got was a broken transmission from The Messenger, and no sign of Vrak. When he found the Rangers still there, he figured they had somehow managed to scrape together just enough power to surprise his underlings. He had sent The Commodore in his stead, hoping not to risk any more of his more valuable assets. However, even he had ended up being destroyed. The Ranger's message to him, their taunts still echoed in his mind.

"It is likely that he has fallen in battle." He declared to Lavira, arriving by his control console. "We must proceed, presuming that he is gone."

"The weapons and devices I have created will be more than enough to take over this little mudball." She assured him. "Not to mention Argus' warriors."

She looked to Argus, who just bowed in response, before approaching Prince Vekar directly, pulling in close.

"My Prince, if I may ask a question..."

"Of course you may." He assured her. She just steeled herself for the question.

"I presumed the only reason you hadn't simply blasted this planet into atoms by now was because you were going to search for your brother." She whispered. "If you believe he is gone, why have we continued to waste time on this worthless speck of dust?"

"Lavira, you must know by now that appearances are deceptive." He told her. "I mourn for my brother of course, but there is more to this planet than just my brother's final resting place."

He looked to Argus, who was standing by a control console.

"How soon can you prepare one of your warriors?" He asked.

"Sir, if I may...we might want to hold back on our next incursion." Argus suggested. "I am getting some very strange energy readings from the area."

"It's probably just the Rangers." Lavira told him.

"No, I have already accounted for them." Argus told her. "There are the Rangers, the power signature from the one using The Commodore's rebuilt ship has disappeared. He must have some form of cloaking device. But there is a third...one that is very powerful."

"Really?" Vekar asked. "What kind of energy?"

"Whatever it is, it is incredibly powerful." He told them. "And it is heading for the coast of Los Angeles."

"Interesting." Prince Vekar replied, cradling his chin with his hand. "Perhaps we should delay our debut appearance to the world. Perhaps we should take the time to see what this new arrival is."

Back in Los Angeles, the Rangers had found somewhere to conceal the Galleon, finally giving them a chance to decompress after their underwater adventure.

Troy sat at the head of the long table in the centre of the main room, his own Rangers down one side of the table, while the Overdrive Rangers and Andrew Hartford lined the other side. He looked somewhat troubled by the events of the day. This was not exactly the way he had expected the battle to go. As the others looked to him, he finally spoke after what seemed like hours.

"Today, we nearly suffered a huge loss." He told them. "We knew that someone else was looking for the keys, but now...now we've finally seen him."

"Troy, it really isn't that bad." Mack told him, placing the five Overdrive Keys onto the table. "We got the keys."

"We lucked out this time." Troy responded. "We almost lost the keys, and we almost got buried under the ocean into the bargain."

"But we didn't." Emma reminded him. "Look, we now have four sets of Ranger Keys!"

Emma took the other Ranger keys out of the chest, and lined them all up along the table. They had the Mighty Morphin' keys, the Turbo Keys, the Mystic Force Keys, and now, the Overdrive Keys. In addition, they had five of the 6th Ranger keys. The Green Mighty Morphin' Key, the Gold Zeo Key, the Quantum Ranger Key, the White Dino Thunder Key and the Mercury Ranger Key.

"See, we've got 25 Ranger keys already." Noah reminded him. "That's not a bad start."

"Plus, we now have one full team's keys." Gia pointed out, moving the Mercury Ranger key to join the other Overdrive Keys. Troy just sighed and nodded.

"Yeah, but this guy..."

"Hey, we'll run across him again." Jake said reassuringly. "He risked his ass to get these keys too. We've already taken five keys from him; we've taken more from him than he's taken from us."

Troy just pounded a fist into the table in frustration. While all of this was true, he couldn't help feeling like he was a step behind.

"Who IS this guy?" Troy called out. "He seems to know who we are, he was able to predict what we were going to do, and yet we don't know anything about him!"

"Well, that's not entirely true." Mack responded. "I did spend a while with the guy."

He looked around the room preparing to begin.

"His name's Lafitte." Mack informed them. "The big monkey thing that's with him is called Colo. He commandeered his ship..."

"It's the Commodore's old ship." Gia interjected. "It's got a new paint job and he seems to have tricked it out a little, but it's the Commodore's old ride alright."

"He seems to be able to use the Ranger keys because of some trumpet thing." Mack told them, grabbing a piece of paper. He started to draw out the device he had seen. "He puts the Ranger keys into the valves like this...and when he plays it, they turn into Ranger Puppets."

"So we now know how he uses the Ranger Keys." Noah commented. "Now the other question is why does he want them?"

"I imagine a Ranger Army would be a useful thing to have." Gia suggested. "I mean, we all know how powerful the Ranger suits make us, and there's been what? Over a hundred different Ranger suits? Could anyone stop an army like that?"

"It's a thought." Mack stated. "But I'm not sure that's it. I didn't get the feeling he had any intention of fighting anyone. He seems to be the kind of guy that prefers to take what he wants when no one's looking to fighting for it."

"So...why else would he want all those Ranger Keys?" Jake asked. "What use does a pirate have for an army if he isn't going to go to battle?"

"That's one more thing. I called him a pirate." Mack continued. "He told me he prefers the term Privateer."

"Privateer?" Troy asked him. "Isn't that basically the same thing?"

"Not exactly." Noah told him. "Privateers were irregular forces hired by the navy."

"Hired?" Jake asked him.

"They were paid by a government during times of war to attack opposing ships." Noah explained. "They were allowed to loot the ships, even commandeer them, as long as they only attacked enemy ships. Basically they were legally sanctioned pirates. They were given a licence to act by the government that hired them. They were paid by their own government, and they were allowed to keep whatever they plundered. It was quite a profitable career as long as their government was at war and maintained their licence. Many pirates started out as privateers."

"So he calls himself a privateer instead of a pirate." Jake said with a shrug. "It's still the same thing."

"Not quite." Gia chipped in. "If he is a privateer, then who hired him?"

The room fell silent; nobody had an answer for that.

"OK, so now we have one more problem." Noah declared. "The Armada know you violated your parole. They probably know you attacked them with our ship."

"Don't worry about us, we can look after ourselves." Will said confidently.

"Well, we can't risk going home." Ronny reminded them. "The Armada have probably already put a price on our heads."

"Briarwood." Troy announced. "Nick and the Mystic Force have the city of Briarwood hidden behind the mystical barrier. You'll be safe there."

"We don't need to run and hide!" Will snapped. "We're not helpless you know!"

"Will, we know you all want to help, we get it honestly." Emma told him. "But the one thing we know is if this is going to work, we all have a role to play. We're the only team that still has powers, so we're going to have to do most of the fighting..."

"But once we manage to get all the Ranger keys and Gosei manages to build his new morphing grid, we're going to need everyone to be ready to help." Noah explained. "You're not going to be much use to us in prison."

Will just sat back, throwing his hands up in frustration. Given his former occupation, it wasn't the first time he had found himself on the run, but he had to admit that what they had said made sense.

"Alright, I guess Briarwood wouldn't be the worst place to lie low for a while." He concluded.

"I wonder if Xander's still offering that ten percent discount he offered us?" Dax chipped in. Rose, Ronny and Will all just looked at him. "It was only a question!"

"Oh, there is one more thing." Rose told them. "While we were under attack, Tensou got knocked off his perch. He banged his head and started saying something...strange."

Troy and the other Corsair Rangers all looked at each other in panic.

"Please tell me you managed to record it." Troy rushed out. Rose just shook her head.

"I'm sorry." She told them.

"Man, I can't believe we missed a clue!" Gia snapped. "Now how are we...?"

"Wait, that poem is a clue?" Rose asked. They just nodded.

"Something's gone screwy with his tracking software." Noah explained. "When he hits his head, he comes out with a poem that contains a clue to the next set of Ranger Keys..."

"Well why didn't you say so?" Rose asked, taking the piece of paper Mack had drawn the trumpet on. She started to write.

"You remembered it?" Troy asked.

"Rose was a child prodigy. She had a doctorate before she was legally able to smoke." Andrew assured them. "She also has an eidetic memory."

"Here it is." Rose told them, giving Troy the paper. He looked at it and started to read.

"In the City of Angels you will find them,  
In the shadow of a risen foe,  
Find the saviours to be and the future will be saved,  
Once the Lost Children are found and an old foe braved."

"Um...does that make sense to anyone?" Jake asked. "You know, other than the City of Angels part."

"It looks like we lucked out; the keys are here in Los Angeles." Gia stated.

"So we're looking for lost children in Los Angeles." Jake replied sarcastically. "Great, that's going to be easy. Does anyone know how many kids are on the streets here?"

"We should get on to searching for them as soon as we can. Lafitte might already be looking." He announced. "Andrew, can you get your team to Briarwood safely?"

Before he could answer though, the alarm sounded. Troy and the others all rushed to the control console, pulling up an image on the screen.

It showed the shore of Venice Beach, and several people running, screaming from the ocean. A huge cloud of steam was rising up from the ocean, moving towards them, like something of immense heat was heading their way.

"This isn't good." Andrew commented.

"What isn't good?" Troy asked him. As the steam started to dissipate, they saw a creature that looked like it was made of red rock, striding out of the ocean, the water around him evaporating and turning to steam as he headed onto the beach. It had massive horns on its head, and glowing yellow eyes. In its chest, they could see a gem the size of a cantaloupe imbedded in between what looked like large, jagged fangs. In its hands, it was carrying a pair of large, red swords.

"OK, why does that guy look familiar?" Jake asked.

"This is what I was afraid of." Andrew announced. "Those Lava Lizards that invaded Atlantis, they weren't after us; they were there for the Heart of Hades."

He pointed to the screen.

"By the looks of it, they found it." He continued. "They've brought back their master Moltor."

"Moltor?" Noah asked. "Wasn't he..."

"VERY bad news." Andrew interrupted him with a nod. "You have to stop him. If you don't, Los Angeles is finished!"


	6. He Gets Knocked Down

Moltor made his way from the ocean, finding himself standing on Venice Beach, surveying the city before him in confusion as Lava Lizards rushed out of the ocean to join him. As he stood on the beach, the sand beneath his feet started to smoulder and melt, turning into glass as he surveyed the area.

"You are certain of what you told me?" He asked one of the Lava Lizards that accompanied him. He was still a little disorientated after the resurrection. All he could remember was his brother, Flurious, betraying him in his lair in the North Pole. He had been weakened by his battles with the Rangers, and Flurious, instead of joining forces with him, had taken the opportunity to destroy him while he was weak. He had frozen him and shattered him, leaving him in pieces on the floor of his cave while Flurious took control of the Corona Aurora. It turned out, that was his mistake.

One of the Lava Lizards had kept a piece of his old master, knowing that the Heart of Hades had the power to restore him. It had taken a long time, the Overdrive Rangers had jealously guarded the secret of the location of Atlantis, but now, at long last, he had found it.

"Yes, my Lord, your treacherous brother Flurious is no more." The Lava Lizard told him. "Your old foes, the Overdrive Rangers are no more! This Armada has destroyed their powers!"

"So, there are no Rangers to stop me!" He stated gleefully.

"I wouldn't say that!" Troy announced as his team arrived on the beach. Moltor just looked out to them, seeing them arrayed before him.

"You...you dare to stand before me?" He snarled as he prepared his weapons.

"Think of us as the party poopers." Troy answered him. "It's kind of what we do. Ready Guys?"

"Ready!" They all called out in unison. Placing their Ranger keys into the morphers, they transformed into their Ranger forms before him. Moltor just turned to one of his Lava Lizards.

"I thought you said there were no more Rangers!" He screamed at it.

"Things change in seven years." Troy responded as he levelled his pistol at Moltor. "Let's make a show of this!"

With that, the Rangers rushed into battle.

Elsewhere on the beach, people panicked and ran, scattering beach wear in all directions. They were ditching valuables and leaving clothing behind as they ran for their lives. No one noticed a kid hiding by a dumpster. She was short, with shoulder length dark hair, and rough, slightly grimy clothing. She looked more than a little pale, and slightly unhealthy. If anyone had cared enough to notice her, they would figure out pretty easily that she was homeless, and had come to this area, which was full of restaurants in the hopes of finding something to eat. She looked around in a panic as she saw the Ranger battle up ahead.

"Jack, will you get out of there?" She yelled, pounding on the side of the dumpster. "JACK, move your butt!"

A moment later, another kid appeared, literally just appeared, walking through the side of the dumpster. He was around the same height as her, with dark skin and dreadlocks. He was holding a couple of polystyrene containers in his arms.

"Look at this, what did I tell you?" Jack asked her as he held up the stack of food cartons like they were some priceless treasure. "I told you Z, with all the health nuts in this area, nobody finishes their lunches! We just hit pay dirt!"

"Well if we don't get out of here, eating is going to be the least of our worries!" Z told him, pointing down the beach. Jack followed her gesture, watching as the Rangers battled with the Lava Lizards. Mack and Emma were concentrating their efforts on Moltor.

"What the hell?" Jack complained. "You've got to be kidding me!"

"Come on Jack, we need to get out of here." Z reiterated, grabbing his jacket and trying to pull him away. Jack was about to go, but there was something that caught his attention, something that he couldn't take his eyes off. As Z tried in vain to pull him away, she finally realised he was staring at a beach towel and a couple of other toys...but most importantly a bag and clothes that had been left behind. "Jack, come on!"

Jack used his genetic power, phasing through her grip and rushed onto the beach, an energy blast narrowly missing his head. He skidded on the sand by the towel and started to rifle through the bag. By the time Z reached him, he had found the wallet, and looked to it with a broad smile.

"Jack, what the hell?" She asked him.

"Z, look at this place!" He replied, pulling out the money and tossing the wallet away. "People have just run off..."

"Because of the giant lava monster that's incinerating the place!" Z interrupted him. Jack just held up the money.

"Z, there's almost a hundred bucks here! When was the last time we had that kind of money?" He asked her. "Clothes, wallets...we're never going to luck out like this again!"

"Jack, those monsters..."

"Those monsters have probably just given us the biggest score we're likely to find! This lot will feed the camp for weeks!" Jack reminded her. "Z, there are kids there that haven't eaten in days; hell we're two of them!"

"Jack, none of that's going to matter if we get dry-roasted!" Z rushed out. Jack just shoved the money away and grabbed some clothing, stuffing it into a bag.

"Fine Z, do what you've got to do." Jack told her. "But I'm not passing up the best score we've seen all year! Now, you can go back to the camp, or you can help!"

Z realised that Jack wasn't going to be swayed in his plan. Although he was young, he had grown up in the homeless camp all his life. He knew the value of things all too well, since he had all but grown up with nothing other than what was sometimes donated to them, or what they could take for themselves. Z had to admit that seeing all these items scattered around was pretty much like several Christmases coming at once. She sighed reluctantly and nodded. Two more copies of herself appeared either side of her.

"Fine, I'll help." She told him. "But then we're getting out of here!"

At the site of the battle, Troy took a hard hit from Moltor's sword, being sent spinning through the air, but he went with the momentum, rolling back to his feet. He looked to the others as they assembled beside him.

"The Lava Lizards are gone." Jake told him.

"Great, we could use all the help we can get with this guy." Troy told them. He put a Ranger key into his sword and another into his pistol. The others all followed suit.

"Alright guys, let's send this guy back to Hell!" Troy called out. The Rangers first fired a salvo from their pistols, and followed them up with energy waves from their swords. Striking Moltor full-on, the Rangers watched as he blew apart in a devastating explosion. Troy placed his sword up over his shoulders.

"So much for the hot-head." Troy declared. As they turned away, they saw four kids rifling through the discarded belongings on the beach. Jack looked up as he took some money, tossing a wallet aside.

"Hey, those kids, are they seriously stealing during this attack?" Jake asked.

"Look at them; they look like they're homeless!" Emma responded, noting their clothes. "Hey, hey you there!"

"Oh great." Z grumbled, looking up as she saw Emma gesturing to them. "Jack! We need to bail!"

"Emma, they're dipping a few wallets!" Jake told her. "It's not exactly..."

"They're homeless!" Gia reminded him. "We're looking for 'Lost Children'?"

Just then, they heard something behind them. Turning slowly, they looked around to see the Heart of Hades glowing brightly. Rock and molten material started to form up around it.

"Oh, come ON!" Jake complained. "Seriously?"

"Emma, Noah, go after them!" Troy yelled as he turned to face them. "Jake, Gia, you're with me!"

As Noah and Emma ran off after kids, Troy took out his morpher, and the Red Overdrive Key.

"Alright guys, I've got a plan." He told them. "Just follow my lead."

A few streets away, Jack and Z ran as fast as they could, trying to elude their pursuers. As they made their way into an apartment complex, they both took a chance to rest up and catch their breath.

"It's a great score Z, it's the best score in ages Z." She muttered, glaring at Jack. He just glared at her.

"What were we meant to do Z?" He asked her. "You know as well as I do what this stuff will mean to the camp! People ran off and left a fortune just lying on the ground! When are we going to get another chance like that?"

"If it's not bad enough we nearly got vaporised, now we've got Power Rangers chasing us!" Z complained.

"Somehow, I think they've got more to worry about than a couple of kids trying to scam a few bucks to eat."

"OK, for one thing, it isn't exactly a few bucks." Z reminded him. "Secondly, they're Power Rangers. They're superheroes! I don't think a couple of thieves are exactly going to rank highly in their list of good people."

"Z, enough of the hero-worship alright?" Jack answered, pinching the bridge of his nose. "The Rangers aren't some amazing, wonderful angels that swoop in and make everything alright!"

Z pulled into the wall, sticking her hands in her pockets as she looked to him.

"All I'm saying is, all they saw were a couple of kids knocking off some wallets." Z told him. "They probably think we're bad guys..."

"Will you listen to yourself?" Jack demanded. "For God's sake Z, when will you grow up and stop acting like such a kid?"

"There you are!" Emma called out as she arrived, clamping a hand down on Z's shoulder. The young girl just gulped, before turning and looking up to look at her. Emma de-morphed, seeing how frightened the girl looked.

"You gave us quite the run-around." Noah complimented them as he grabbed the scruff of Jack's neck as he tried to run away.

"Please, we didn't mean any harm!" Z rushed out, staring up at Emma. Emma saw kind of a mix of fear and awe in her. She looked to Jack, and saw only anger.

"We only took what we need." Jack put down flatly. "Those people ran off and left those wallets just lying around. The way I see it, they can't want them too much. Finders Keepers!"

"Do you think the cops would see it that way?" Noah asked him.

"Somehow I think you'd have more to worry about walking into a police station than we would." Jack replied somewhat cockily. Emma just looked to Noah, giving him something of a wordless message to back off. They were kids.

"Somehow I think you're right." Emma told them. "We aren't going to hurt you, we just want to talk."

"What? You're going to take the stuff we took?" Jack demanded. "You look well fed. We found that stuff fair and square!"

"Did he just call me fat?" Noah asked her. Emma rolled her eyes.

"Look, how about we start from the beginning?" Emma suggested. "My name's Emma, and this is..."

"We know who you are!" Z stated, her voice cracking a little. Emma could see her trying to side with Jack, but could tell that a part of her held some admiration for who they were. It appeared that even street kids had seen their wanted posters.

"Well, I guess that has us at a disadvantage then." Emma answered. "What's your name?"

"Z." The girl replied. "His name's Jack."

"Z!" Jack protested, only for Emma to smile.

"Well, I'm pleased to meet you both." Emma told them, looking to Jack. "You both look hungry. How about we take you somewhere we can get you something to eat?"

"We have plenty of money." Jack snorted. Emma just nodded.

"Yeah, and you have a lot of clothes too...by the looks of it way more than the two of you are likely to use." She commented. "Come on, we just want to talk."

Noah looked at Emma reluctantly.

"Emma, what are you doing?" He asked her.

"I'm getting some hungry kids something to eat." She responded.

"Emma, we can't exactly walk into a restaurant..."

"I'm not planning anything like that." Emma assured him with a smile, pulling out her cell phone. "Cat's apartment isn't too far from here."

"You think you can bribe us with a meal?" Jack demanded. Emma just looked to him.

"Like I said, by the looks of it, you've got way more than you're intending to use yourselves." Emma assured him. "You're taking this back to help others aren't you?"

"If you have more than you need, you share it out." Jack put down abruptly. "If you ate yesterday and the guy next to you ate two days ago, you give your food to him! We help each other out, that's the way it is!"

"Well, we know someone who lives near here." Emma explained. "All we want to do is take you there, get you something to eat, and then you'll have more of this to share around won't you?"

"She's got a point Jack." Z told him. He just looked sceptical.

"You're really going to let us walk away with all this stuff?" Jack asked. Emma looked to Noah. Strictly speaking, they were stealing. They knew it wasn't exactly right, but they also knew what they were stealing for. It wasn't as though they were taking watches and jewellery or video games or other luxury items. They were taking clothes, and money to get food. He finally relented.

"I guess it's like you said. Those people left it behind." Noah told them. "Better you get it than someone else."

"Come on." Emma said, offering Z a hand. "It's not too far."

Back at Venice Beach, the battle against Moltor raged on. Buildings nearby were aflame, and the beach was by now completely deserted, allowing the Rangers to concentrate on the task at hand.

Gia, as Overdrive Yellow, was using her Drive Claws to send massive waves of sand flying at Moltor, blinding him and keeping the worst of the heat at bay.

"Alright Troy, he's fighting blind!" Gia told him. "Whatever you've got in mind, now would be a good time!"

Troy launched himself into the air as Jake covered him with a Drive Defender. He brought the brought his Drive Lance down, the head lamps in his helmet lighting up to let him see through the sand storm Gia had created. Taking careful aim, he drove the point in just above where the gem was lodged into Moltor's chest, the momentum driving the blade deep into his chest. Troy used all his strength, beginning to pry the gem outwards. Despite his pain, Moltor started to lash out, striking Troy as he tried to pry it loose. Troy though knew he couldn't give up. This was their best chance.

"Gia, use your claws!" He yelled, nodding towards the space. Gia rushed in; ramming her Drive Claw into the opening Troy had opened, beginning to help him. They both ignored Moltor's relentless attempts to cut them down. Eventually, they managed to rip the gem out, at which Gia flicked it over to Jake.

"Alright Jake, it's down to you!" Gia told him as Moltor finally cut them down. Both she and Troy converted back to Corsair mode at his final attack, grateful that the Overdrive Key's energy had taken the beating, allowing them to carry on.

Jake, who was up on the sidewalk, stopped the gem with his foot. Moltor started to rush towards him as Jake produced the Drive Slammer.

"Time to drop the hammer!" He stated as he brought his hammer down, shattering the gem. Moltor fell to his knees at this, looking significantly weakened.

"Alright guys, let's give this another shot!" Troy instructed them, once again putting a Ranger Key into his sword and his pistol. Jake converted back to Corsair mode, doing likewise as Gia also prepared her weapons. With all the strength they could muster, they launched their final attack once more. Moltor started to spark as he slumped face first onto the sands and exploded. The three Rangers all fell to their knees, completely exhausted.

Meanwhile, up on the Warstar's flagship, Prince Vekar was watching the battle with interest. He gestured to Lavira.

"Lavira, how about you try out that new device you were telling me about?" He asked. Lavira just looked at him.

"But my Prince...it has not been tested since I performed my latest experiments." She reminded him.

"Not to mention this...creature...is not one of your warriors." Argus reminded him. "He once tried to take over the Earth himself. He cannot be trusted!"

"Well, it all depends on how you look at things doesn't it?" Prince Vekar replied casually. "If your upgrades haven't been perfected yet, then it isn't one of my warriors, so we will lose nothing. If it does make him grow..."

"He could defeat the Rangers." Argus suggested. Prince Vekar just let out a small, derisive chuckle.

"He could...or they could defeat him. Either way, I doubt the winners will be in much of a state to continue." He told them. "No matter what happens, we win."

"Maximiser, activate!" Lavira called out, levelling her hand-set at the Earth. A bright purple beam fired from the ship, making its way towards the Earth.

Back on Venice Beach, Troy, Jake and Gia had all finally caught their breath.

"That guy was a serious pain in the ass." Jake commented. "At least he's down for the count this time."

Just as he said this, the purple beam struck home. Troy and Gia just glared at Jake.

"I know, I know." He groaned as they all flipped out their morphers, preparing to call the Megazord.


	7. Cat the Babysitter

Emma guided Z by the hand through the apartment block as she inspected the doors, looking for the right address. She had been right that they were close to Cat's apartment; she'd never actually had a chance to go there before they were forced to go on the run.

"OK, this is the right floor." Emma commented. "It should be around here somewhere."

"We should find it quick." Noah told her, looking around for any signs anyone was watching them.

"It's alright Noah, we're almost there." Emma assured him, rounding a corner. She smiled as she saw the door, and confirmed the number with the address she had. "Here it is."

Emma knocked on the door, waiting for an answer. Jack just crossed his arms, looking impatiently at the door.

"Well?" He demanded. "See, what did I tell you Z? This has been a waste of time!"

"She's probably just busy!" Z told him.

"Z, come on! Let's go!" He told her. "We went with these guys like you wanted. There's nothing of value here, now let's get back to the camp!"

"Jack, we haven't even given this a chance." Z told him. Jack just rolled his eyes.

"Z...are you just star-struck because these guys are Power Rangers?" He asked her. "What are they really going to do? Take us with them?"

Z just clutched Emma's hand and pulled in a little closer. Noah put a hand on Jack's shoulder.

"Hey, she's your friend. You should really lay off her." Noah told him. Before Jack could answer though, the door was answered. A girl around Emma's age, with long, unnaturally red hair, wearing a white shirt that was several sizes too large for her covered in paint splashes appeared.

"I'm just com..." She started to say, before looking up, seeing Emma and Noah standing there. Her face positively lit up as she saw them. She launched into a massive hug.

"Emma, hi!" She squealed excitedly. "It's great to see..."

"Yeah, it's great to see you too." Noah interrupted her. "Can we move this inside?"

"Oh...right." Cat said, looking around. "Okay, come in."

She guided them inside, at which they looked around. The apartment wasn't especially huge, not that they really expected it to be. Cat had moved out here with her brother Gerald when she had been offered a full scholarship to an art school. Cat had always been a talented artist, and genuinely hoped to pursue it. The room was sparsely decorated, and in the centre, she had set up an easel and a small work table with a bunch of paints and brushes.

"What are you doing here?" Cat asked them. "Is Gia with you?"

"Gia's in the city." Emma told her. "Cat, we need to ask you a huge favour."

She pushed Z into view.

"This is Z, and the grumpy looking one over there is Jack." Emma told her. "They're both kind of hungry, and we kind of left the others in the middle of a Zord battle..."

"Sure...I can find something." Cat told her. "I'll take care of them for a little while."

"Thanks." Emma replied, pulling in closer as Z and Jack, both of whom were looking around the place like it was some kind of palace, were distracted. "We're coming back; we just need you to take care of them for a little while."

"What's the story?" Cat asked her. Emma just whispered.

"We think they might know where we can find something really important." She told her. "We need to talk to them, but they're...well..."

"They're homeless." Noah told her. "If we lose sight of them, we might not be able to find them again."

"Jack's a bit reluctant." Emma told her. "If you manage to convince Z to hang around, he should stay though."

"I'll do what I can." Cat answered as she showed Noah and Emma out. As she closed the door over, she turned back to the two kids.

"Um...I have some pasta." Cat told them. "I shouldn't be long."

As she was about to pick up a bag, Jack yelled at her.

"HEY!" He yelled. "That stuff's ours!"

"Oh...I'm sorry, I was just going to move it out the way." Cat told him, backing off. "I'll just get that pasta."

As she left the room, Jack stood guard over their stolen goods, making sure she didn't try to take them. Z was sitting on the floor a little way off.

"There was no need to be rude." Z told him. "She seems nice, and the others should be back soon."

"Yeah, well, she shouldn't touch our stuff." Jack huffed. "By the looks of it, she's got plenty of stuff of her own."

Z though wasn't paying any attention. Just like Jack, she knew that finding stuff to take back to the camp was important, but that didn't mean she had to treat the rest of the world as an enemy. While she had only been on the streets a couple of years, Jack had been homeless his whole life. He had already grown to have something of a chip on his shoulder about the world. Z though still believed that there were good people in the world, people worth believing in.

As Jack started to grumble and moan, no doubt pointing out how much of the stuff in Cat's apartment would help people in the camp, she reached into her pocket, and pulled out something that always made her smile. Five little figurines she had found a few weeks ago, all of them depicting what looked like Power Rangers. She just started to play with them, imagining them saving the day, tuning out Jack and his constant grumbling.

Back at Venice Beach, Troy, Gia and Jake were struggling against Moltor. He was smashing into their Megazord with his swords, sending sparks flying everywhere.

"Damage report!" Troy called out.

"Energy's dropping out." Gia informed him. "My controls are seizing up!"

"We've lost our swords!" Jake screamed as Moltor moved far quicker than any of them anticipated. Sliding one of his swords inside their guard, he ripped the swords from them, sending them flying through the air. They were rocked as he blasted them with a jet of molten lava.

"We can't take much more of this!" Gia called out.

"Is there room for two more?" They heard someone call out. They looked around in time to see Emma and Noah running into view.

Troy launched the Megazord forward, through one of Moltor's attacks, slamming both hands into his chest in a desperate move to gain some space as they leapt into the Megazord. Noah and Emma rushed to get into their seats, taking up the controls.

"Sorry we're late." Noah told them. "We had to arrange a babysitter."

"Well, we've taken a beating, but we're not out yet." Troy answered, flicking open the Overdrive Red Key, which started glowing. "Now the two of you are here, let's make sure he STAYS down!"

They each inserted their Ranger keys, and turned them. A gigantic spade and pick-axe appeared before them, only to re-form together to create a huge sword. The Megazord grabbed it, and almost immediately the power levels started to rise.

"Got to love these Power Keys!" Jake commented as they brought the sword down, smashing through Moltor's swords, sending shards of them flying in all directions. The Megazord powered up their final attack, bringing the blade down and straight through Moltor. He pitched backwards, and fell to the sand, before exploding once again. As soon as he did, Gia reached across, clamping a hand over Jake's mouth piece.

"Don't say a word Jake!" She warned him. "Just...don't say a word!"

Up on The Armada's flagship, Prince Vekar stroked his chin thoughtfully as he watched the battle's end. He didn't say a word, seeming to just think about the battle he had seen as the Megazord reformed into The Galleon and left the scene.

"My Prince, do you not want us to attack?" Argus asked him. Prince Vekar just shook his head as he shifted in his seat, leaning back.

"Lavira, show me the energy readings from that battle again would you?" He asked. Lavira worked on her console, bringing up the readouts from the battle. She transferred it onto a huge screen for him to survey.

"My Prince, the ship..."

"There will be other battles Argus." Prince Vekar assured him. "This is what interests me."

He started to trace the power readings on the screen. As would be expected, there were peaks and troughs, but it was mostly a downward trend. As the battle progressed, and more and more of the power was exerted on defending the Megazord from harm, there was less overall power for it, and its power output started to wane. However, near the end, there was suddenly a massive spike. The power level shot right back up to dizzying heights.

"My Prince...how is this possible?" Lavira asked him. "How could they regain so much power so quickly? An energy source that would give them so much power so quickly...it is inconceivable!"

"Indeed." Prince Vekar stated with a smile. "Perhaps I was too dismissive of The Commodore's reports of amazing powers at their disposal."

"Scanners can no longer find their ship." Argus told him. "What would you like us to do?"

"There will be other battles." Prince Vekar reiterated. "Argus, would you leave us for a while? Lavira, we have matters to discuss."

Back at Cat's apartment, she watched as Z and Jack cheerfully slurped down leftover pasta. She had guessed that it had probably been a while since either of them had eaten a good meal. Z didn't even speak as she chewed her food frantically, almost like she was frightened it would be taken away if she let go of it for a minute. Jack just stared into the bottom of his bowl as he finished it.

"There's more on the stove." Cat assured him. "I can get you some if you'd like."

Jack held out the bowl, at which Cat took it, and went to Z, taking her bowl too. As Z forced down her last mouthful, she noticed the figurines on the floor.

"Those are interesting." Cat stated.

"I didn't steal them!" Z assured her. Cat just looked to her and knelt down, preparing to look at them, but when she saw Z watching her carefully, looking like she was ready to pounce, she figured they meant something to her and left them alone. "Those look like Power Ranger toys."

"Yeah, they are, they're stupid, useless, worthless Power Ranger toys." Jack said in an exasperated tone. "We found them a few weeks ago and now she takes them everywhere with her."

"You really like the Rangers don't you?" Cat asked. Z just nodded. "Well, I'll go and get that pasta. I'll be right back."

As she went, Z snatched up the figurines and held them closely.

"Why do you always give me a hard time over these?" She asked him. "You didn't want them, so what do you care?"

"Z, they're worthless!" Jack told her. "Toys are worthless! They don't feed you when you're hungry, they don't keep you warm at night..."

"I like them!" Z protested, clutching them defensively.

"Because they're Rangers?" Jack asked her. "Cat, the Rangers aren't these amazing saviours you make them out to be!"

"Yes they are!" Z yelled at him. "They save people all the time!"

"Z, wake up! The Rangers don't help people like us!" Jack told her bitterly. "You want to know who's a real hero? The guy that broke into the pharmacy when you got sick and got you the medicine you needed, THAT'S a hero!"

"Hey, hey that's enough!" Cat interrupted them as she came back into the room. "I could hear you from the kitchen! Jack, leave Z alone! She doesn't need to like everything you do!"

"It's easy to talk about what you like when you don't have to worry about where your meals come from." Jack answered, snatching the bowl of pasta from her. He stormed off to a corner and started eating. Cat looked to Z as she sat silently.

"He...He's right. I spend too much time with stupid dreams." Z grumbled.

"Dreams aren't stupid." Cat assured her. "I know things are tough out there, but that doesn't mean you can't dream of being part of something bigger."

She grabbed a sketch pad and opened it to a drawing. Z just looked at it.

"Is that...?"

"I know them from High School. This time last year, they were in my class." She told the younger girl. "Do you think they ever dreamed they'd be Power Rangers? If there's anything I've learned, it's that anything can happen."

There was a knock on the door, and Cat immediately started grinning brightly. Taking off the paint-covered shirt, and straightening her clothes and her hair out as much as she could.

"What is it?" Z asked.

"Oh...it's probably just the others." Cat pressed on, trying to fix her appearance. Z just furrowed her brows.

"Why are you...are you getting ready for one of the guys?" She asked, beginning to bounce on the spot excitedly. "Do you like one of the guys?"

"Uh...something like that." Cat answered, getting up and beginning to make her way towards the door. "Just eat your pasta."

She made her way towards the door. She stopped by a mirror in the hallway, checking out her appearance. As there was another knock on the door, she wished she had more time to prepare. She was painfully aware of the fact she still had water-colour paint on her hands.

"I'm coming!" She called out. She went to the door and opened it.

"Hey guys, great to..." Her words tailed off as all she saw was armour. She looked upwards, seeing a bright, red gorilla's face. "...see you?"

There was a large crash as Colo smashed a cymbal into her head, knocking Cat to the floor unconscious. Lafitte stepped over her as he made his way into the apartment.


	8. A Step Behind

"Cat, Cat!" Gia rushed out as she leaned over the couch, checking on the teenage girl, gently tapping her cheek to try and bring her round. After their battle with Moltor had ended, Emma and Noah had explained that they had taken Z and Jack somewhere that someone could keep an eye on them while the Rangers tried to stop Moltor from destroying all of Los Angeles. By the time they had left, most of Venice Beach's waterfront lay in ruin, and covered in patches of volcanic rock, but all things considered, they were sure that if it was between cleaning up a beach and rebuilding the city, the authorities would be more than grateful.

As soon as they had arrived, they had found the front door lying open, and Cat lying on the floor unconscious. They knew they had to find the kids, believing them to be the secret to securing the next set of Ranger Keys, but without knowing, REALLY knowing what had happened, they had nowhere to begin the search.

None of that was Gia's first concern though. As soon as she had seen Cat lying on the floor, all thoughts of the keys had gone right out of her head. She had immediately sprung into action, trying to revive her. After satisfying themselves that there was no threat of spinal injury or making anything worse, they had moved her to the couch for comfort. As she started to stir, Gia breathed a noticeable sigh of relief.

"Cat, are you alright?" She asked her. Cat was still trying to get her bearings.

"It's OK, I just have a little head on my bump." She told them. Noah just looked to the others.

"Uh...I can't tell if that's a sign of concussion or not." He remarked. Gia just threw a fist backwards, her eyes never leaving Cat, catching Noah in the knee with a pained yelp.

"Hey, you had us really worried there." Gia told her, moving to help her. "Can you sit up?"

Cat started to sit up, but swayed a little.

"I don't feel so good." She answered.

"What happened?" Gia asked her, checking out the huge bump on her forehead. "Who did this to you?"

"There was this big monkey thing." Cat told her. "He hit me with a cymbal."

"If it was anyone else, I'd say that was the blow to the head talking." Noah stated. Gia just raised a fist, like she was about to hit him again. Noah pulled back and held up his hand in apology. "A monkey...that sounds like..."

"Colo." Troy responded. "And if Colo's been here, then I think it's a fair bet Lafitte was here too."

"And since there's no sign of the kids..." Emma continued, unable to think of what could have happened to them. She turned and looked to Cat. Just then, they all looked around as they heard the door lock tripping. They knew Cat had moved out to LA with her brother, and that he often worked shifts. They had all met him before, so they weren't really worried about him coming in. They just turned their attention back to Cat.

"Cat! I'm back!" A female voice called through, causing all of the Rangers to look up at once. "We had loads of leftovers after the lunch rush, so I have dinner..."

Her words tailed off as she got into the living room, and the bag just slipped out of her hand. She looked to be about the same age as the Rangers and Cat, with long, dark hair. She was wearing tight jeans, white sneakers, and a white denim jacket. She just stared around at the Rangers.

"Um...Hi, we're..."

All of them were suddenly deafened by an ear-splitting scream, following which the mystery girl launched herself at them, hugging all of them tightly. She started to babble out something incoherent, but catching the odd word, they quickly figured out that she had recognised them as the Rangers, probably from all the wanted posters.

"Wow, now that...that was a reaction." Noah said with a smile.

"Dude, when you met Billy, you practically lost your lunch." Noah reminded him, pointing out the fact Jake had no right to judge anyone for nerding out a little when they saw them.

"Dude, the freaking Power Rangers are in our living room!" She rushed out, casting a glance in Cat's direction. "I know you told me you met them, but I thought..."

The new girl suddenly stopped talking as she saw Cat's slightly vacant look, and the large bump, that was starting to approach the size of a ping pong ball on her head. She immediately shoved the Rangers aside as she got onto the couch with Cat, holding her.

"Dude, what happened?" She asked her. Cat just sighed.

"I paid the inevitable price for helping friends." She replied. The girl got up and glared at them.

"Wait...this is your fault?" She asked them. Emma just backed up a little.

"We really didn't mean..."

"What happened? Who did this?" The girl demanded. Troy just approached her slowly, keeping his hands where she could see them.

"OK, let's all just calm down for a minute, we don't want any more trouble." Troy assured her. "I'm Troy, this is..."

"I know who you are; I have all your wanted posters!" The girl snapped at him, crossing her arms defiantly.

"Tamsin..."

"Not now Cat!" The girl interrupted her. "So what gives? What are you doing here?"

"What are we...?" Gia asked, beginning to find the girl's aggressive stance wearing by now. "What are YOU doing here?"

"I live here!" Tamsin responded sharply. "Now since Cat was fine when I left this morning, and now she looks like someone tried to hit a home run with her head, and the only thing that's different is you're here...I'm guessing that this is something to do with you!"

"We didn't hurt Cat." Emma assured her. "But...um...I guess we might have had something to do with it."

Tamsin just sat on the couch with Cat, her arms crossed defiantly.

"Well why don't you just explain it to me?" She suggested. "And I suggest you do it before I consider calling that fugitive hotline. I've seen the posters so many times I have the number memorised."

Troy looked around, and finding a chair, he pulled it up and looked to Tamsin as he tried to find a way to explain, hoping that Cat could still tell them something that could help them find the missing kids.

Meanwhile, elsewhere, Jack and Z were sitting in a grossly ornate room within Lafitte's ship. It was set up as a dining room, and looked like it had been set up for some kind of dignitary. Lafitte had brought them here, and then disappeared, locking them inside. Z was sitting in the corner, with her arms wrapped around herself, while Jack paced around the room, inspecting every inch of it for an escape route. He made his way towards one of the sides, and stuck his head straight through the wall.

"Jack, will you stop that?" Z told him as he carried on. One of the things they had bonded over, one of the reasons they were such close friends was the fact that they were both different. Neither of them knew why, but they had always been able to do things that other people couldn't. Z had, from a young age, been able to create other copies of herself, meaning she could quite literally be in more than one place at a time. Jack on the other hand was able to move through solid objects. Both of them had found these abilities quite useful on the streets, but it wasn't something they advertised. Even among societies outcasts, they knew they were different, even from the others in the camp that had become part of their community. Neither of them were keen to find out the answer to the question, where did the outcast's outcasts go?

"Z, I'm working here." Jack told her as he pulled his head back in. He wasn't so much worried about an escape route for himself. His ability had proven more than a little useful in his short life already. Supermarkets and restaurants had a lot of food that was all too easy to take when it didn't matter if they locked the doors at night. His concern was finding a way both of them could escape. While Z's abilities did have their uses, she couldn't walk through walls like he could. Even if he did get away, he'd have to find a way to unlock the door for her. Leaving her behind, the only one that was just like him, was not an option.

"Jack, we can't let him know about us!" Z told him. "If he knows..."

"Well, I'm not really keen on waiting around to find out what he wants!" Jack interrupted her. He came over to Z's side, holding her. "Look, I'm trying to find a way out, for both of us."

The door opened, and they both jumped to their feet as Lafitte walked in. He had a huge smile on his face as he came in.

"Alright, what do you want creep?" Jack yelled at him.

"Why...I only wanted to talk to you." He answered. "My name is Lafitte, this is my ship, The Fancy. I believe we can help each other out."

"Yeah right, because we have so much of value." Jack sneered at him. Lafitte snapped his fingers, at which Colo came in; carrying the bags of loot they had taken from the beach. Colo placed them down on the floor.

"Hey, that stuff's ours!" Jack protested. Lafitte just looked to them sceptically.

"Somehow I doubt that." He told them. "I only took it so that I could have a look through what you have here. I didn't find what I was looking for."

"Great, so let us go then!" Z told him.

"Not quite yet." He responded. "You see, you might not have what I want in your possessions, but that doesn't mean you don't know where it is."

"Do we look like we have anything of value?" Z asked him. "Please, just let us go!"

"I think you misunderstand my intentions." Lafitte continued, placing a hand on top of her head, stroking her hair. "Do you believe I wish to steal from you?"

"You're a pirate right?" Jack asked him.

"I prefer the term Privateer, but you get the idea." Lafitte carried on, removing his hand from Z's hair. He looked to it, and started casually wiping off his hand on his coat. "Nothing you have here interests me, and by the looks of you, you need this more than those people on the beach do. If their possessions were that important to them, they'd have taken them with them right?"

"Right." Jack agreed. "So...if you don't want that stuff, what do you want?"

Lafitte reached into his coat, and pulled out the Silver Space key, showing it to them. He allowed them to get a really close look at it.

"I am something of a collector. I'm looking for items that look a lot like this." He explained, seeing the way the kids' eyes lit up. He could see the recognition in them, and knew he had hit pay dirt. They definitely knew where the Ranger Keys were. "I believe you might have seen something like these."

"Well, we..."

"Well, maybe we have, maybe we haven't." Jack said, giving him a little smirk as he sat down in a chair, looking to Lafitte. "That all depends on what you can do for us."

"I see we have an understanding." Lafitte responded, pulling up a chair and taking a seat. "I can see that you are in, shall we say...an unfortunate financial situation. I have something I'm looking for that you can help me find. How about we see if we can't find a way for both of us to get something we want?"

"Jack..."

"Let's just say I knew where you could find some of those Power Ranger toy things." Jack stated. "What's it worth to you?"

Lafitte took off a ring, and placed it on the table in front of Jack. The young boy just looked to it and up to him.

"I'm prepared to be generous." Lafitte told him. "That ring is most valuable..."

"Not to me it's not!" Jack snapped at him. "You think I can eat that? Can I walk into a supermarket and spend that? I don't think so!"

"I believe there are places you can trade it for..."

"A pawn shop?" Jack said sceptically. "Dude, I'm 10! Do you really think a pawn shop would give me a single cent for that? They'd take it off me and call the cops!"

"Well, how about we talk about what I can offer you then?" Lafitte suggested, starting to lose a little patience with the children. "I will give you cash for every key you have. Does 100,000 dollars apiece sound good to you?"

Jack almost fell out of his chair as Lafitte said this. He tried to maintain his cool, but this guy was offering 500,000 dollars for a bunch of stupid, worthless toys that Z had found lying around in the city. For handing over a bunch of junk, he would bring home enough money to feed the whole camp for years! Z saw the look in Jack's eyes, and could see where his thoughts were going.

"Can we talk about it?" Z asked him. Lafitte just got up from his chair.

"Of course you can." He said regally. "Colo, go and get them some refreshments while they discuss matters."

He looked down to them and removed his hat as he bowed.

"I will leave you in Colo's care." He told them as the hulking monkey left the room. "Just let him know when you are ready to discuss terms and I will be back."

As he left, locking the door behind him, Jack just went to Z, and held out his hand.

"Give them to me..."

"Jack..."

"Z, I said give them here!" Jack reiterated. "Did you hear what he said?"

"Jack, they're mine!" Z told him.

"Z, they're stupid toys!" Jack told her. "If we give them to him we'll be rich! We'll take a fortune back to the camp! We'll be heroes!"

"Think about it Jack, if they're so worthless, why is he offering so much for them?" Z asked him. "Also, hello, he kind of kidnapped us! What makes you think he'll give us that money when we do give them to him?"

"What choice do we have Z?" He asked her.

"Jack...something doesn't feel right about this." Z reiterated. "I just don't think we can trust this guy. What's to stop him taking us out when he has them?"

Jack thought about it for a moment. She had made some convincing points, things that had kind of crossed his mind, but the thought of all that money had blinded him for a moment. Z had pretty good instincts about people, and he wasn't about to start doubting her now. If he wanted a way out of this, he needed to be smart. He took her hand and looked into her eyes.

"Z, follow my lead." He told her. Z just nodded in understanding. As Colo came back with some food, Jack tapped his arm.

"Tell your boss we want to talk." Jack instructed him. "We're ready to make a deal."

Back in the apartment, Troy had just finished giving Tamsin and Cat a rundown of what was going on. He explained about Jordan creating their new powers and equipment, the powers housed in the Ranger Keys, and finally their suspicions that Jack and Z had a set of keys because a clue from Tensou seemed to suggest that they might one day be Rangers themselves. As he finished his story, Cat and Tamsin just stared at him.

"Tensou's a parrot now?" Cat asked, raising a small smile from Gia. The fact that was the part of the story that stuck out in Cat's mind was just like her.

"So these kids have super powerful Ranger Keys, you already knew this psycho was after them...and you brought them here?" Tamsin asked them. Emma just sighed. When she said it like that, it did sound pretty irresponsible.

"We didn't know what else to do." Emma told her. "We couldn't take them back to the battle..."

"So you put a Cat's life, someone you call a friend in danger..."

"Tamsin, please." Cat begged her. "It wasn't just their fault. I agreed to help."

"Yeah, of course you did." Tamsin said somewhat coldly. Gia was about to put a hand on her shoulder, but Tamsin just pulled away, glaring at her angrily. "I wouldn't expect anything less from Cat, but you guys...? You took advantage..."

"Look we feel bad, and if there was another choice, we'd have taken it." Noah told her. "But right now, two kids need our help, and if they know where the keys..."

"The keys, you said they were like little figurines right?" Cat asked. Gia showed Cat her Corsair Ranger Key. Cat just nodded. "I know exactly where they are. Z had them."

"What?" Jake asked. "She..."

"She was playing with them earlier, she thinks they're toys." Cat informed them. "She seemed pretty attached to them."

"If I know anything about kids and their toys, if they're attached to them, they'll do anything to keep them." Jake responded. "Maybe she hasn't given them to Lafitte."

"Now the only problem is how do we find them?" Troy asked.

"If they're trying to run away from Lafitte, where's the one place they're likely to go?" Noah asked them. "Home!"

"Noah, they're homeless!" Jake reminded him.

"Yeah, but...they were at the beach, they have to have somewhere they stay nearby. Cat, do you know anywhere nearby a lot of homeless people gather?"

"There's a camp by the overpass." Tamsin suggested. "But if this Lafitte guy has them, why would they go there?"

"It's somewhere to start at least." Troy answered. "Thanks for your help Cat."

"Sorry about...well..." Noah stammered as they headed for the door.

"Hope your head feels better." Jake told her.

"It really was good to see you." Emma said sheepishly. Gia paused for a moment, just looking to Cat. A part of her wanted to stay, but she knew that right now she didn't have a choice. Unable to say anything to her, Gia just headed for the door, closing it behind her. Tamsin got up from the couch, running a hand over Cat's shoulder.

"I'll get the first aid kit." She told her as she left. Cat just sat on the couch, taking her stuffed dragon Huffy from behind a cushion, and hugged it tightly.

On The Fancy, Lafitte came back into the room, where Jack and Z were waiting for him. He could see them standing together in a show of strength. Despite their young age, they clearly understood the concept of trying to maintain an air of strength in an uneasy situation.

"So, you wanted to talk?" He asked. Jack just looked to him.

"We have five of those figurine things you're looking for." Jack told him. Lafitte just smiled.

"Splendid. Then that will be five hundred thousand." He told them, holding out his hand. "Now, if you wouldn't mind..."

"Whoa, not so fast fancy pants." Z told him. "It occurs to me, we're still on your ship. We're a long way from home. What's to stop you from dumping us the second we tell you where they are?"

"You think I'm lying to you?" Lafitte asked them. Jack just grinned.

"I think anyone that shows off his wealth like this when he stole it all is dishonest by nature." Jack told him.

"What do you propose?" Lafitte asked them.

"Take us back to the camp; it's just at the overpass." Z told him. "When we get there, we'll take you to the keys."

"In the meantime, start counting the cash." Jack told him. Lafitte just nodded and turned on his heel, walking out the room with Colo. As he closed and locked the door behind him, he let out a sigh.

"I really do hate children." He breathed. "Still...I won't have to put up with them much longer. Guard the door Colo. Make sure they don't try to get up to anything."


	9. The Camp

It wasn't long before the Rangers found what they were looking for. Los Angeles, despite having one of the richest economies of any city on the planet, boasting a prosperity that was comparable to many countries, it also had one of the largest economic divides in the world. The gap between the "haves" and the "have nots" was no more evident than here, a small encampment by an overpass, a mere handful of miles from some of the richest people in the world.

The camp looked like something they'd have seen on the news from some war zone or disaster zone. Rough, simple shelters had been erected out of cardboard, sheet steel, corrugated iron and various other trash that had been scavenged to keep out the worst of the elements. Massive amounts of blankets and materials were bundled into the shelters and around the camp to create at least some measure of comfort. People gathered around firing barrels, which were being used for heat, and to cook whatever food could be scavenged.

They were parted as a couple of kids ran past, playing a simple game of tag. They didn't seem to register the Rangers at all as they played. One of the most striking things about the people seemed to pay only a passing interest to the Rangers. They kept an eye on them as they came close, but lost interest again just as quickly as they passed, seemingly only caring if they strayed too close to their meagre possessions and their families.

Noah looked down as something squelched under his boot. The ground underfoot was soft and damp in places. He wrinkled his nose as he considered what it might have been. In many ways, he figured it was probably best he didn't know.

"Look at all these people." Noah whispered. "When Cat said there was a camp...I was expecting...there must be a couple of dozen people here at least."

"How does no one notice this?" Jake asked, looking around to where a mother was bundling some rough blankets around her children.

"People don't notice because they don't WANT to notice." Emma sighed. "It's easier to just drive past and pretend places like this exist than it is to do anything about it."

Gia just nodded wordlessly as they continued to look around, hoping to see some signs of the kids, or Lafitte.

"Guys, is anyone suddenly very aware of the fact that we're collectively worth like twenty million?" Jake asked them. They all just turned and glared at him. "What? I'm just saying...that kind of money could go a long way around here."

"Somehow Jake, I don't think most of these people are more worried about whether or not they'll find something to eat today than anything else." Emma told him, gesturing to their clothing. "It's not like we're exactly inconspicuous here, and look, people are barely even looking at us."

"Guys, let's focus." Troy told them. "We need to find those kids. Hey, you, can I talk to you?"

He called out to a man, standing by a firing barrel, reading a book. He was wearing a long, rough woollen coat, and black, woollen fingerless gloves. He had long, greasy hair that had been swept back out of his weather-beaten face. There was a large group of people gathered around him, listening to his reading. Troy had singled him out, because a large number of the campers seemed to be listening to him as he read. He turned towards the Rangers, seeing them approach, and then looked back to his audience.

"We will pick this up again tomorrow evening." He told his listeners, who started to gather up their things and head for their shelters. He looked around to the Rangers and smiled. "Well well, if it isn't the Power Rangers. I am honoured. My name is Raymond."

His tone seemed refreshingly sincere as he greeted them. The Rangers had come to expect a reaction whenever they appeared. Some people were frightened, convinced of the stories that had branded them dangerous, reckless criminals and ran. Others met them with anger and resentment, blaming them for The Armada's campaign of terror, and their oppression. Some continued to see them as heroes, and reacted with excitement or relief, expecting them to deliver them from their problems and seeking to help them. This man seemed a little underwhelmed at having the planet's most wanted fugitives standing a few feet from him, and seemed to just genuinely want to find out what they wanted.

"Hi...um...we were just looking for someone." Noah began. The man just looked at them a little curiously. "Can you help us?"

"I would be only too happy to help if I can." Raymond told them, gesturing around him to people taking refuge in their shelters. "You can understand that some are a little anxious about your presence here."

"We understand. We don't want to bring any trouble." Emma assured him. "We just need to ask you something and then we'll go, we promise."

"We're looking for two kids, a boy and a girl." Troy told him. "Jack and Z..."

"I know them. They are under our care." Raymond confirmed.

"Under your care?" Jake asked. The man just looked back to Jake.

"Our community takes care of each other." Raymond explained. "We find that we are safest if we stay together. Everyone shares what they have, everyone contributes what they can. If everyone contributes equally, everyone benefits equally. That is how we live."

"Have you seen them recently?" Troy asked him. The man just paused to think. He eventually just shook his head.

"I have not seen them since this morning." He informed them. "They went out foraging. I was expecting them back some time ago. I'm beginning to get worried."

Troy was about to explain further, but just then they all heard a huge roar of engines from above them. Looking up, they watched as The Fancy started to shimmer into view as its cloaking device deactivated.

"We need to get out of sight." Troy rushed out. "Raymond, we'll find the kids for you. I promise, but..."

"I have as little desire to see trouble as you do." Raymond told him. "Seek refuge in the shelters. My community will conceal you."

The Rangers all ran off, looking for somewhere to hide, preparing an ambush for Lafitte when he arrived. They suspected that his appearance here meant that he did have the kids, and if that was the case, they suspected he would have no qualms about hiding behind them, using them as a human shield.

As The Fancy landed, and the gang plank opened up, Lafitte walked out with Colo in tow. Colo was carrying a protesting Jack under his arm, while Lafitte had Z held firmly by the scruff of her neck. He gripped the material of her jacket, holding her firm.

"Alright, I brought you...home." Lafitte said, wrinkling his nose in disgust. The camp had a distinct aroma to it, the consequence of the fact that laundry and cosmetic products were something of a secondary concern among the residents. "Now, where are the keys?"

In his hiding space nearby, Troy morphed into Ranger mode, bringing up his pistol, gripping it tightly. He didn't have a clear shot at Lafitte, and he didn't know if any of the others did. It was bad enough that they were still in the camp; the last thing he wanted was to put Jack and Z in danger.

Z just looked up at Lafitte.

"Um...I..."

"I have been very generous already." Lafitte warned her, bringing out his pistol. "I've brought you home like you asked. Now, I am beginning to lose patience."

"It's just...it's kind of a secret." Z told him, looking to Jack. "I have other personal stuff there."

"Well, I doubt you have anything I'm interest..."

"I don't want everyone knowing." She pressed on, signalling him to come down. "I'll whisper it to you."

Lafitte bent down, preparing to listen to Z's instructions. Z took one last glance over to Jack, and nodded to confirm that now was the time. Lafitte felt a hard kick in his shin, and looked around...only to find Z standing nearby.

He felt his trousers being yanked up painfully, crotching him, before he was kicked in the backside, sending him face-first into a dirty puddle. As he looked up, he saw three Z's running away.

Jack phased through Colo's arm and darted off in another direction, leaving the gigantic ape looking completely confused. The hulking henchman helped Lafitte to his feet as the kids disappeared into the maze of shelters.

"You little...do you really think you can get the better of me?" He screamed. He pulled out his trumpet, and slid five Ranger keys into it. Playing a note, the Rangers saw the Silver Space, White Mighty Morphin', Gold Samurai, Green Samurai and the Wild Force Wolf Ranger appeared.

"Go, find them!" He yelled at his puppets. The Puppet Rangers immediately ran off in search of the kids. Just then, he heard a loud blast and looked around to see the Corsair Rangers stepping out of cover. Troy levelled a pistol in Lafitte's direction.

"You're real brave, chasing a couple of kids." Troy taunted him. "How are you against people who can fight back?"

"Why don't you try me and find out?" Lafitte asked him. Troy gestured to the others.

"Go find the kids. Keep Lafitte's puppets off them." Troy told them. "I'll take him."

As the other Rangers ran off to search for the kids, Troy rushed to the attack. As he fired off his pistol though, Colo leapt in the way, intercepting the shots with a huge, brass cymbal. Troy swung wildly with his sword, only for it to be blocked as well. As he struggled against the hulking henchman's inhuman strength, he remembered Cat saying something about being hit with a cymbal.

With a huge heave, Colo shoved Troy, throwing him savagely through one of the makeshift sheds that the campers were using for shelter. He heard a few screams as Colo bellowed out a huge roar.

"What's the matter Lafitte?" Troy asked him as he heaved himself back to his feet. "Are you afraid to face anyone yourself?"

"There's an old saying, why have a dog and bark yourself?" Lafitte said with an arrogant little smirk. "I just happen to have a gorilla, so..."

Colo roared as he barrelled towards Troy. He brought up his weapons only barely able to block in time as the massive creature swung for him with its cymbals. Lafitte just leaned on a wall, watching the battle unfold before him as he pulled out an apple and started to crunch it casually. This was turning out better than he thought.

In another area of the camp, the Wolf Ranger was chasing Z, rounding some trash as she fled for her life. The Puppet face-planted into the dirt as Noah slid out of a side corridor, kicking its feet out from underneath it. He got up, pointing his sword at the Puppet.

"Get out of here kid!" He told the terrified young girl. She just stood, frozen to the spot. "I said GO!"

Z turned and ran off as Noah took on the Wolf Ranger, trading blows with him. He was momentarily distracted as the Silver Space Ranger grabbed Z, causing the girl to scream. He shoved the Wolf Ranger away, before taking aim at the Silver Ranger.

"Damn it, I don't have a shot!" He complained. Before his eyes though, Z just disappeared, leaving him completely confused. The moment passed though when he realised he was now facing off against two Rangers. Silver Space and Wolf Ranger both converted their weapons to sword mode as they approached him.

"We're doing things that way are we?" Noah asked them. He turned his pistol around. "Emma! Switch it up!"

He threw his pistol into the air, and saw a sword flying his way in return. He snatched it out the air, levelling one of them at his opponents, while holding the other behind his back.

"Alright then, let's do this." Noah beckoned them.

Emma meanwhile received Noah's pistol, bringing both of them to bear on the Gold Samurai Ranger. He was moving with impossible speed, blocking her shots as he closed in, but Emma knew that there were people in the surrounding shelters, so she was trying to keep his focus on her.

She was smashed to the ground as he attacked her, before looking around for his quarry. He saw Z breaking cover and running. Emma watched as he brought back his arms, throwing the barracuda blade and its scabbard straight for her.

Emma screamed in determination as she opened fire, hitting the scabbard, sending it spinning harmlessly away from Z, but she missed the Barracuda Blade. Just as it should have struck home though, it passed straight through the girl, who disappeared. Emma saw the opportunity while the Puppet was distracted, hitting it with a salvo of shots.

"She's not here!" Emma called out.

"She's not here either!" Jake yelled as he rounded a corner, firing shots at the White Might Morphin Ranger, who was keeping him pinned down with blasts from Saba. "I'm getting hemmed in guys, one of you will have to find them!"

Meanwhile, Gia was fighting with the Green Samurai, her twin swords whistling through the air as she tried to find a gap in his guard. As he strayed too close to some of the locals, hiding in cover though, she lunged at him, tackling him away from them.

Z and Jack had taken up a hiding spot, watching the battle unfold. They hadn't wanted to bring any trouble to the camp, but within moments of their arrival, the whole camp had descended into a war zone. Jack and Z huddled together.

"Man, this is crazy!" Jack commented. "All of this for a bunch of toys?"

"They're tearing the place apart!" Z told him. "Jack, we have to do something!"

"Like what Z?" He asked her. Z looked over to where Gia was slammed through a firing barrel, tumbling away as she distracted the Green Samurai, letting some campers run from their hiding place. She pulled out the Ranger Keys and sighed, staring at them. She loved the Rangers, she really did. She could remember being unable to stop smiling when she found those figurines, finally able to own some Ranger toys of her own. Now though, it was clear that there was something more to those keys, something she didn't yet understand.

Jack had been on the streets longer than her, and was a lot more cynical and jaded. He had told her more than once that her worship of the Rangers was, as far as he was concerned, foolish. It wasn't as though a Ranger ever showed up and gave them a meal or a night in a warm bed he would always say. As she watched though, she saw Gia taking a lot of punishment, not caring about herself, or fighting to protect herself, but instead was trying to keep his attention away from those trying to flee. Z clutched the keys tightly and looked to Jack.

"Z, I know that look." He said as he tried to reason with her. He was too late though, and she started running. "Z...aw damn it!"

As she ran for Gia, Jack could see the Green Samurai Ranger rounding on her. He started yelling, waving his arms.

"Hey! Over here!" Jack called out as he distracted the puppet. He held up a fist. "You want these? You want what we got? Come and get them!"

The Green Samurai started chasing Jack, leaving the way clear for Z to help Gia. She looked to the Yellow Ranger.

"You...you do care about us." Z stammered. Gia just looked to her in amazement.

"We're here to protect the world, the WHOLE world." Gia told her. "Not just people living in fancy houses."

She struggled to get to her knees, her power levels depleted as a result of the beating. Z just sighed and held out a hand, showing her the keys.

"These will help won't they?" Z asked her. Gia just looked to her.

"Are you sure about this?" Gia asked her. Z just nodded.

"I might want them, but if you use them, then the people I care about will be safe." Z told her. "I guess...I guess that's better than having a few toys."

Gia took the keys from her, accepting them gratefully. They started to glow, at which all but the Yellow SPD Ranger key disappeared from her hand.

"You want to be a Ranger?" Gia asked her. "Find anyone you can, and get them out of here! Things are going to get wild."

Z just nodded in understanding and ran off. Gia got up, taking the Ranger key in hand.

"Now...let's see what the future will bring." She stated, placing the key in her morpher and turning it.


	10. The Future of Law Enforcement

Troy was struggling against Colo. For such a large and powerful opponent, the huge gorilla moved with alarming speed, and almost as soon as he got space, Colo was right on top of him again.

He was forced up against a fence, where Colo was starting to crush him painfully, squeezing the breath out of him. Thinking quickly, he shoved his sword backwards, slicing through the chain link fence. As he tumbled backwards, he fired off his pistol, hitting Colo straight in the face, and staggering him. Lafitte just whistled as he realised that Colo was going to need some time to recover.

"You really are making this so much more difficult on yourself than it needs to be." He taunted Troy. "Simply give me the keys, your Zords and your morphers and I'll let you go with your lives."

"Really?" Troy asked sceptically as he got back to his feet. He took a look over to where Colo was still clutching his face, and stumbling blindly. He looked to Lafitte. "What exactly is meant to make me believe that once you've taken them you won't hand us in?"

"I guess you're just going to have to trust me." Lafitte answered with a smirk. "The way I see it, you don't appear to have much of a choice."

"Really? Well the way I see it..." Troy levelled his pistol Lafitte's way. "There's no one else standing in my way. It's just you and me, and by the looks of you, I'd say there's not much to worry about." Lafitte just laughed.

"You have no idea." He chuckled. "You believe just because I choose not to fight that I can't? I'm a privateer! I fight who I'm paid to fight, I steal what I'm paid to steal, and I kill who I'm paid to kill and nothing more."

"Nice speech." Troy snorted. "Let's see you back it up."

Just then, Lafitte heard some blasts from all around him. His Ranger puppets flew into view, landing on the ground a little way in front of him, before turning back into Ranger Keys. Shortly afterwards, the SPD Green, Blue, Yellow and Pink Rangers ran into view, aiming their blasters at Lafitte.

"Here." Gia said to Troy, handing him the red SPD key. "You look like you could use the power boost."

As he put the key into the morpher and turned it, just like with the other Ranger Keys, Troy found himself flooded with the memories and knowledge required to use the powers and equipment associated with the keys. He was startled that not all of the memories seemed to fit, a lot of them...hadn't actually happened yet! The year 2025 was stuck in his mind, a time when humans and aliens lived together largely in peace. He saw the occupants of the uniforms and realised that Gia's suspicions had been right. The kids they had found weren't the Rangers yet...but one day they would be.

"Right Lafitte, we asked you nicely, this is your last warning." Troy told him, drawing his Delta Blasters and aiming straight for him. "Your puppets are down, and your gorilla's in no shape to fight. Leave any other keys you have, and just back off."

"Well, I'm glad to see you don't believe I've sacrificed ALL of my keys." He answered, raising his trumpet with five more Ranger keys in it. "I think one more small sacrifice is in order."

He blew the trumpet, at which the Ranger keys started to glow, before turning into more Ranger puppets. The Gold and Silver RPM Rangers, the Solaris Knight, the Omega Ranger and the Titanium Ranger all stood before them.

"I prefer my battles a little more...one-sided." Lafitte told them. "Another day Rangers."

With that, he and Colo disappeared from view, at which the Rangers heard a roar of engines, before his ship, The Fancy disappeared into the distance. Troy and the other Rangers turned their attention back to the new Ranger puppets, who without warning, suddenly turned on the residents of the camp. Troy performed a forward roll, snatching up the white Mighty Morphin' key as he opened fire, sending the Solaris Knight flying as he was hit squarely in the chest.

"They're going after the campers!" Troy called out. "Raymond, get them out of here! We'll take care of these guys!"

Raymond and the other campers immediately started to scramble, grabbing as much of their possessions as they could carry. The Rangers did whatever they could to keep Lafitte's Ranger puppets away from the fleeing campers. Gia and Emma laid down a huge volley that took down the Omega and Titanium Rangers.

"Come on guys, we need to ramp this up!" Troy told them as he combined his blasters. He fired it off hitting the Solaris Knight again, this time he started to glow, and transformed back into a Ranger Key, which flew into Troy's hand.

"I only saw these guys once." Jake commented as he and Noah brought down the Gold and Silver RPM Rangers. He quickly morphed into the Black Overdrive Ranger, calling up the Drill Blaster. "I guess now I get to find out where they're from!"

Firing off, both of them turned back into Ranger keys, landing on the ground. The whole team assembled behind Gia and Emma.

"Let's bring it back to the originals." Noah suggested, at which they all morphed into the Mighty Morphin' team. They assembled the Power Blaster, levelling it at the remaining two Rangers. One more blast, and the last of the Ranger Puppets fell to the ground, jingling as the keys hit the ground. The Rangers all de-morphed, looking around the camp.

"Lafitte...?"

"He's long gone." Troy sighed.

"The campers?" Jake asked.

"By the looks of it they're gone too." Troy replied, looking around at the camp. Although they had tried hard to keep things restrained, there was a certain amount of damage to the camp. A few fires, and some of the shelters were destroyed.

"Those kids, they...they gave us the new keys." Emma reminded them. "We have to find them. We have to..."

Unfortunately, just then they heard some sirens in the distance. Noah just shook his head.

"I doubt they're going to come back here." He answered sadly as he bent down, picking up the Gold RPM Key. "I have a feeling that a lot of them won't exactly have a great relationship with the authorities."

"But we have to find them!" Emma stated. "We can help them, we can..."

"I wish we could too, but something tells me that if they don't want to be found, they won't be." Gia answered Emma, putting her arm around her. "I think we have to face the fact, they're gone."

"I know we want to help them, but from the looks of the setup here, I doubt it'll be too long before they find their feet." Jake assured her. "I have a feeling with Raymond looking out for them, they'll be fine."

"But they left behind almost everything they own." Emma reminded them. "Clothes, blankets, food..."

"Nothing I'm sure they won't be able to replace." Troy answered. "Remember, they have a kid who can walk through walls. I doubt it'll be too hard for them to find more supplies."

"It still doesn't feel right to leave them behind." Emma grumbled. Troy just picked up the Omega Ranger Key.

"Well, I guess all we can do is to take victory wherever we can find it." He answered. "Lafitte had to give up a lot of his keys. We're now a lot closer to having all the powers we need."

"Well, that's great and everything, but now we really need to get moving." Noah answered, pointing up as the sirens approached. "The campers might have been cool, but I really don't want to take my chances with the cops if I can help it."

"Thirty million looks pretty tempting on a civil servants salary." Jake conceded. Emma saw Gia smiling brightly.

"I know that look..."

"I think I know somewhere we can lie low for a couple of hours." Gia told them. Troy just looked at her completely unconvinced. "What? At least we'll be able to make it up to her for the trouble we caused earlier."

"Yeah, and I'm sure that's your only motivation." Noah said with a smirk.

"Alright, fine, we'll go to Cat's place." Troy sighed. "There's nothing there of any value to Lafitte now. I'm sure it'll be fine."

With that, the Rangers quickly departed, leaving the authorities nothing to find but some ruined shelters, and discarded belongings.

From a little way off, Z watched as the Rangers left. Although the campers had started to leave, she had remained hidden so that she could see them in action. Something about the battle had spoken to her. She barely noticed as Jack returned, nudging her.

"Z, come on." He told her.

"Did you see that?" Z asked him.

"What? You mean when the Rangers brought a bunch of monsters to our home and thrashed the joint?" Jack asked her. "Uh...it's kind of hard to miss."

"Jack, they couldn't help it. Those monsters came here looking for us." Z reminded him. "It's just...it's amazing. Haven't you ever dreamed of something more than this? Haven't you ever wanted to be part of something bigger?"

"Z, people like us don't get to be Power Rangers." Jack put down flatly. "Now, come on, Raymond's waiting for us. We need to find somewhere new to settle."

Z just nodded and went with Jack, casting one last look back on their former home. She couldn't help thinking that there was a reason she had seen what she had. She was sure something about what happened tonight would somehow shape her future.

Back on The Fancy, Lafitte was sitting on his chair as a droid saw to Colo's injuries. The gorilla just whimpered as he was treated.

"Don't worry Colo, I'm sure you'll get plenty of opportunities to pay the Red Ranger back." He told him. Just then, he heard a communications link opening.

"Ah, I was wondering when I'd be hearing from you." Lafitte remarked casually.

"You failed to retrieve those keys." The voice on the other end said sternly. "What's worse, you lost ten more of your OWN keys!"

"Sometimes you have to sacrifice something to gain something else." Lafitte told him, his hand stroking the chest next to his chair. "I still have ten more, and I have gained invaluable insight. I am confident our future encounters will go very differently."

"Well, that will have to wait." The voice on the other end told him. "I have some leads on some of the powers you have yet to find. Given your recent sacrifice, I believe it is for the best that you get a head start."

Lafitte looked to a screen, seeing the information his employer was sending him and sighed.

"Well, it looks like I'll be leaving the planet for a little while." He commented. "And the Rangers?"

"I have a feeling they will have plenty to keep them busy on Earth." The Employer told him. "I expect to hear good news from you soon."

As he signed off, Lafitte just looked back to the monitor.

"Well, it looks like you'll have some time to heal up before we see the Red Ranger again." He told Colo as he started to set a course off world. "Enjoy this respite while it lasts Rangers. Keep collecting those keys. It'll save me searching for them all."

Later, as the Rangers arrived at the apartment, it was Tamsin who answered the door. She just looked at them somewhat grumpily.

"I guess you didn't cause enough damage the last time." Tamsin grumbled. "So, what are you planning to do now? Set fire to the place?"

"Peace offering?" Troy offered weakly, holding up a large take-away container of sushi. "We felt badly about what happened..."

"And you think thirty dollars worth of sushi is going to make up for it?" Tamsin asked him.

"Did you say sushi?" Cat called through. Tamsin rolled her eyes as she took the container off them and showed them into the apartment. They all filed in, taking seats around the apartment. Gia sat with Cat as they made their way in. "You...you came back!"

"Our last battle attracted a little bit of attention." Troy told her. Cat just looked across to the TV, which was still reporting on the story. Troy just shook his head. "And of course you already know."

"It's kind of hard to miss." Tamsin responded, folding her arms defiantly across her chest. "Do you go anywhere that you don't completely level before you leave?"

"It's not like we WANT things like that to happen." Noah told her as he opened the sushi container. "Those kids, Jack and Z...they disappeared during the battle. We have no idea where they went."

Tamsin started to clap sarcastically, earning herself an icy glare from Gia.

"Tamsin, please." Cat said in a stern tone. "They didn't mean it I'm sure."

"I get the impression they're pretty good at disappearing." Gia told Cat, reaching for her hand. "I have a feeling they'll be just fine."

"So, how long are you staying for?" Tamsin asked.

"Just a couple of hours, until the worst of the heat dies down." Troy assured her. "We won't expect you to put us up for any longer than that."

"We'll be out of here soon." Gia told Cat, taking her hand softly in hers. "I'm afraid there's still a long way to go."

Cat got up, and went with Gia out onto the balcony outside. Emma watched her friend go, smiling. She couldn't remember the last time she had seen Gia so happy.

Outside in the night air, Gia couldn't take her eyes off Cat. She started to stroke her hair softly.

"I'm really sorry you got hurt." Gia told her. "You can't believe how happy I am to see you. I've really missed..."

"Gia, there's something I need to tell you." Cat interrupted her. Gia just looked a little confused as Cat turned to face her. She could see from the look in her face that she was struggling to hold in tears.

"Cat, it's OK, you don't need to cry." Gia assured her. "I missed you like crazy too. You wouldn't believe how much."

"I've...Gia...this can't go on." Cat told her. Gia just looked a little confused. "Gia, I've been following your battles on the news. Do you know what it does to me any time I see you fight? Do you know how much it hurts every time I watch them put up the reward on your head?"

"Cat, it's OK." Gia assured her. "It won't be forever. We've already got 40 Ranger Keys! There only were a little over a hundred Rangers!"

"Gia..."

"Cat, I promise you, I'm being careful." Gia told her, holding her hands gently. "I'm not taking any unnecessary risks. And I know it's going to be tough, but when this is all over, when the Armada's gone for good, I don't care about reporters or anything like that. Once the reward's gone, I'll come back..."

"That's just it Gia, you shouldn't come back." Cat told her. "Not for me at least."

Gia just looked a little stunned by what Cat had said. She felt her heard sinking as Cat said this.

"Cat, what are you...?"

"Gia, I'm sorry but I'm not as strong as you are." Cat continued. "I just...I can't do this anymore. I can't spend every day terrified every time I switch on the news."

"Cat, please you can't..." Gia could see Cat trying to avoid her gaze as her tears began. She tried to sniff back some of her own as she tried to continue. "Cat, I know this is hard. Don't you think I feel it too? I love you."

As she said this, she saw Cat casting a glance back into the apartment. Gia just gulped as a thought occurred to her.

"Tamsin?" She asked. Cat just looked to her regretfully.

"Gia, I'm really sorry." She told her. "I just..."

"Don't say it." Gia begged her. "If it's over, if this is it, just...just say that."

"I'm sorry." Cat replied. As Gia wiped her eyes, she looked to Cat one last time.

"So am I." She answered. Just then, Troy came out onto the balcony.

"Gia, you really need to see this." Troy told her. Gia just nodded and headed back into the apartment.

The news had a scrolling banner declaring breaking news.

"That news one more time, within the last few minutes, we have received an exclusive broadcast from The Armada." The reporter declared. "We are now going to go live to a broadcast from the bridge of their flagship.

The Rangers watched on as the screen shifted to a view of the bridge of the command ship, shifting inside. It looked almost as much like a throne room as it did a working bridge. Seeing the regal figure sitting on his command seat, they had to do a double-take.

"Um...does that guy not look a lot like...?"

"The Messenger said that the leader of the Armada was Vrak's brother." Troy recalled. "I think this must be him."

"People of Earth, I am Prince Vekar, master of the Armada." He said with a regal tone in his voice as he looked out of the screen. His gaze was slightly disconcerting, almost like he could actually stare at the Rangers straight through the very screen. "I have taken this time to address you directly, to honour you with my direct attention."

"I don't like the sound of that." Jake commented.

"To my left, you will see my science officer Lavira." He introduced her. "On my right, Argus, my tactical officer. Given recent events, I have opted to dispense with the formality of envoys and address you from my own high council."

He leaned forward in his chair.

"Have I not been good to you?" He asked. "Have I not allowed you the freedoms I promised? Have I not spared you from my forces as I said I would?"

He shifted in his chair, leaning back and arched his fingers in front of him.

"I have done everything I can to make our occupation as painless and as free from suffering as possible, and yet still you insist on testing my mercy." He continued. "Your misguided Rangers continue to attack my forces. They have destroyed no less than three of my officers. They have murdered my Commodore, and attacked my ships wherever they have gone, causing untold destruction and suffering."

He gave the screen a sick little smile.

"For that, there will be...consequences." He announced. "The Earth will no longer receive the benefit of my continued patronage. To spare my forces further attacks, I will withdraw my garrisons from the Earth."

"OK, why am I not hopeful that's a good thing?" Jake asked.

"Maybe because he's probably not keen on shelling his own men?" Noah suggested.

"We will maintain our protection from on high. The last thing I want is any more battles on your streets." He told them. "However, another great crime must first be addressed. My brother, the one you know as Vrak has been murdered by the Rangers. I have lost my own blood. This is an affront that will not stand. And yet some of you still continue to view these criminals as heroes."

He then got up from his chair.

"For that, there must be punishment!" He said with authority. "The rewards for the Rangers have been increased as of this day. Ten million for each of them, with the exception of their leader Troy Burrows, whose reward stands at twenty million."

"Holy shit." Jake gasped. "Even I'm tempted now...he just doubled our reward!"

"Finally, to ensure there is no further mistake as to the costs of harbouring these dangerous fugitives, I have decided to make an example of one of your cities." He told them. "Tomorrow at dawn, I will launch an all out offensive on the Rangers' home city of Harwood. Perhaps once you have seen their home levelled, no stone standing upon another, you will realise that resistance only causes unnecessary suffering. Remember, you have the Rangers to thank for all of this."

With that, he signed off, leaving the news crew stunned. Troy turned off the TV.

"He's...he's going to wipe Harwood off the map!" Jake stammered. "Troy..."

"He's forcing our hand." Troy agreed. "But he's shown something else too."

"What's that?" Jake asked him.

"We've obviously got him rattled." Troy stated. "Now he's showing his face, he's no longer hiding behind underlings...it's clear we have his attention. Now we know who we're fighting."

"Why am I not hopeful Vekar isn't as bad as his brother?" Emma commented.

"Because if Vrak came on ahead, if Vekar could order him around, then either Vrak respects him or he fears him." Troy answered. "Neither of which is a good sign."

"We've got a lot of ground to make up before dawn." Noah told them. "We need to get moving."

With that, they all started to file out of the room. Gia paused for a second, giving Cat one last, long look.

"Goodbye." She stated. "You asked me not to say it before. Now we have to."

As she left, she brushed past Tamsin. The other girl just watched her go.

"Um...that was...she just gave me some serious stink eye." Tamsin stated.

"We broke up." Cat informed her. "She can't concentrate on the battles ahead if she's chasing some fantasy that we'll have some happily ever after."

"But what does that have to do with...?" She paused as she realised what had happened. "Did you tell her we...? Dude, I'm straight! Why would you do that?"

"I know Gia." Cat sobbed. "I know she'll never stop fighting for something she loves. I had to make her believe that we were over."

Cat just sat on the couch, grabbing Huffy, the little stuffed dragon Gia had got her when they first started going out, and hugged her tightly.

"I'm really sorry Cat." Tamsin told her. Cat just nodded as Tamsin sat with her, holding her tightly.

Fin.

**A/N: **And here we are, brought up to the starting point for the season proper. The invasion will be my version of the first episode.

Lafitte's taking a little sabbatical, but don't worry, we'll see him again.

Hopefully you've all enjoyed my storyline so far. I know it's going really far A/U, but that pretty much was always my intention. I plan to milk the pirate thing for all its worth. Thanks to all my loyal readers and reviewers. The new story will come soon.


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